tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495Sat, 28 Feb 2015 05:43:09 +0000Serena WilliamsRoger FedererRafael NadalMaria SharapovaVenus WilliamsAndy MurrayAndy RoddickNovak DjokovicWTAATPVictoria AzarenkaJelena JankovicCaroline WozniackiJustine HeninAna IvanovicDinara SafinaKim ClijstersJames BlakeElena DementievaAgniezska RadwanskaDavis CupLi NaMarion BartoliRichard GasquetWTA NewsFernando VerdascoJuan Martin del PotroSvetlana KuznetsovaDavid FerrerSamantha StosurATP NewsNikolay DavydenkoVera ZvonarevaFernando GonzalezMarat SafinBob and Mike BryanAndre AgassiDavid NalbandianFlavia PennettaGael MonfilsJo-Wilfrid TsongaLleyton HewittSam QuerreySloane StephensWTA TourATP TourJohn IsnerJuan Carlos FerreroThe Usual SuspectsUSTATomas BerdychFed CupNadia PetrovaTommy HaasGuillermo CanasLindsay DavenportMardy FishRobin SoderlingWTA WimbledonWimbledonATP WimbledonMaria KirilenkoPatrick McEnroeShahar PeerDominika CibulkovaJunior TennisMarin CilicPete SamprasUS Open ReportATP v Hamburg TrialAnna ChakvetadzeGilles SimonJohn McEnroeSabine LisickiStan WawrinkaTommy RobredoWTA TennisDaniel NestorFrancesca SchiavoneMartina HingisNenad ZimonjicUS Open 2010ATP TennisAustralian OpenNicole VaidisovaPetra KvitovaRadek StepanekAravane RezaiAustralian Open 2011Australian Open ReportBethanie MattekDaniela HantuchovaFeliciano LopezIvan LjubicicLarry ScottMadison KeysNicolas AlmagroSara ErraniSimona HalepTMC ShanghaiSavannah's WorldA blog about tennis.http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Savannah)Blogger1127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-8037037828347977300Fri, 27 Feb 2015 19:47:00 +00002015-02-27T14:47:07.349-05:00Andy MurrayBorna ĆorićGrigor DimitrovMichael JoyceNishikori KeiRoger FedererRyan HarrisonThe Future is...Now? The Menby Savannah<br /><br />I've been toying with the idea of doing a "future is now" post since the end of the Australian Open but could never get it right in my head. It's early in the year. The spring US Hardcourt swing hasn't gotten underway yet. Which up and comer, hyped or not, should I focus on as an example of what the future of tennis will look like? A youngster may shine one week and flop the next. With the superstars of the last (current) generation not slowing down but maturing in their thought processes and hence their approach to the game what is the right age to start looking at the players born in the '90s? Are they showing any signs of revolutionizing how tennis is played? Are any wise beyond their years? <br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/9b0cc4a7-c38d-47d5-9881-444d2e7ac940_zpsejjqvo8y.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/9b0cc4a7-c38d-47d5-9881-444d2e7ac940_zpsejjqvo8y.jpg" border="0" alt="via GQ(Getty) photo 9b0cc4a7-c38d-47d5-9881-444d2e7ac940_zpsejjqvo8y.jpg"/></a><br />via GQ UK/Getty<br /><br />Too broad a scope. I'll focus on one player this time, one that's not on my watch list. He's got potential but like his peers he still thinks like an eighteen year old kid. Who? <b>Borna Ćorić</b> (Chorich) of Croatia. He got himself in a spot of bother (I love some of those British colloguialisms)by declaring himself the best of his generation around the time of the AO and facing the inevitable "who the hell do you think you are" response from fans and the press. He'd played poorly coming into Dubai where he crashed out in Qualies. Because of a withdrawal he got into the Main Draw as a Lucky Loser.<br /><br />As you know I'm a big fan of young players working their way to direct acceptance into main draws by playing Qualfying and the Challenger/ITF circuit instead of being gifted Wild Cards into the main draw's of top tier tournaments. Despite his "I am the greatest" moment those around the eighteen year old seem to be thinking the same way about his schedule. He's good but he's not ready for prime time yet. I don't think anyone expected much from him when he was set to play <b>Andy Murray</b> in the quarter final round at Dubai. Murray, a notoriously slow starter, would probably end up playing <b>Roger Federer</b> in the semi finals. <br /><br />Things did not go according to plan. Murray quickly realized he was not going to have an easy time with Borna and began pressing instead of doing what he usually does and work his way into a match. He seemed unable to relax (Borna wouldn't let him) and Ćorić showed no mercy when Murray began spraying errors all over the place routing the British Number 1 in straight sets. <br /><br />I was surprised that the press reaction wasn't "Murray had a bad day" but "Ćorić has shown he's a future Grand Slam winner". Really? Is the hatred directed towards Murray because of his coaching choice so strong that he couldn't be granted that nicety by fans and press alike? No. Because he needs Lendl. I'm really sick and tired of that talk. Lendl walked away from Murray not the other way around. What is Murray supposed to do don sack cloth and cover his head in ashes and crawl to Lendl and beg him to come back? I don't think that's going to happen. What is happening is that the Brits are terrified because when Murray walks away from tennis they have absolutely NO ONE to take his place. They also have no one who is suitable to coach a top ten Grand Slam winner since they have no former players who were anywhere near the top ten or winning a Slam. So they snipe from the sidelines and try to force Murray to get rid of the French woman.<br /><br />But back to Ćorić. As I said Murray had a bad day. I wasn't impressed with that win. I wanted to see how he played Federer who would come out loaded for bear and ready to squash the kid like a bug. Would Ćorić be able to stay calm and play a patient game or would he come out and try to blast Federer off the court? He did the latter with the results you would expect from that approach. Federer saw him coming and saw him off with a pat on the back. It was Ćorić who pressed, who rushed his shots, who sprayed errors. But that's expected. He's eighteen. Even the comms conceded that his win over an ill and shouldn't have been playing <b>Rafael Nadal</b> was a win over a sick man before rushing on to praise Federer's easy win. <br /><br />Ćorić was never close to winning the match today and the way he played he shouldn't have been. He played just like <b>Elias Ymer</b>, <b>Francis Tiafoe</b>, and <b>Alexander Zverev</b> play when facing a top player. They're all still at the "blast him off the court" stage in their development. None of them show the precociousness of the previous generation some of whom had Slams in their late teens. <br /><br />Too much is being asked of these kids too soon. Play Challengers. Play Qualies. They need to learn to win and more importantly learn to lose. When the lessons have been learned from both experiences then and only then will these young men (and women) be able to play up to their potential. Don't ruin their spirits by putting them into situations they're not ready for. <br /><br />Segue to Acapulco where there have been some very interesting goings on with the next big thing and one could have been next big thing.<br /><br /><b>Grigor Dimitrov </b>is called the next big thing because he has a similar backhand to Roger Federer. He's managed by Federer and Tony Godsick's agency. He's got a Nike clothing contract. And it's said he's got a famous tall Russian Grand Slam winner as a girlfriend. And he can cliff dive as well as the people who do that for a living to harvest pearls. What a man no? <br /><br />At 23 he's had four coaches including his current coach Roger Rasheed. He's won three ATP Main Tour titles including Acapulco last year. Seeded third things looked to be set for him to make at least the semi finals against <b>Nishikori Kei</b>. It didn't quite work out that way. <b>Ryan Harrison</b>, one of the enfants terrible US tennis is known for, seems to have decided he wants to play tennis and not just make shots and stage elaborate meltdowns. The US based comms made a point of saying he had moved to Austin and that he was working with <b>Andy Roddick</b>. (There was no mention of Roddick becoming his coach or travelling with Harrison). <br /><br />That was a very strange match to watch. Harrison didn't implode and won the first set 7-5. Okay fine. I figured Dimitrov would take the next two. He won the second set 6-4 and then the bottom fell out. Harrison stayed cool, calm and collected, a minor miracle, and it was Dimitrov who had the melt down before losing the third set 6-0. I don't think anyone saw that coming. They didn't see Harrison getting past <b>Ivo Karlovic</b> either but he did and he'll play <b>David Ferrer</b> in one semifinal Friday night. Win or lose Harrison, at 22, seems to have gotten over being the next big thing and is looking to be a good tennis player. I don't think he'll be seen as cannon fodder at Indian Wells or Miami. If he can build on the success he's had in Mexico it should be very interesting for him and tennis in the United States. I'm not saying he's going to win a Slam but doing well at an ATP 500 is kind of a big deal for US tennis at the moment.<br /><br /><b>Colette Lewis Interviews Michael Joyce</b><br /><br />Michael Joyce, former coach of Maria Sharapova, sat down with <a href="http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=2165"> Colette Lewis </a> for Tennis Recruiting Network to talk about his coaching odyssey. He talked about how he ended up coaching Sharapova and how his career has evolved from that experience. The exchange shown below got my interest.<br /><br /><blockquote><b>CL: Do you think coaching is underrated or overrated?</b><br /><br />MJ: I think you can overcoach for sure. I find it's usually a couple of little things that if you can make them believe that they can do it, believe in playing a certain way, have an identity of what they're trying to do, that's the hard part.<br /><br />I think a lot of people can sit there and watch a match and say, this person should have done this or that, that's not that hard. I could watch the Super Bowl and pick apart what they did right or wrong.<br /><br />But how do you get people to do that and believe that? That's what <b>I think is the biggest challenge in coaching, to get the player to believe in what they're trying to do, do it under pressure, do it day in and day out. I'm not a big believer in quick fixes. You can tell a player something and it might help them for a little while, but having an identity and understanding what they're trying to do, having a good attitude, confidence, all those things a coach can really help.<br /><br />That's a reason I like coaching women, because I feel as a coach you can make a lot bigger strides with somebody, sometimes more than a guy. Take John Isner. How much are you really going to help him? He going to hit 30 aces, and if he doesn't, he's probably going to lose. For the men, it's pitting my strengths against your strengths and seeing who wins. Obviously there's a little coaching there, but with the women, there's not as many weapons, a lot more patterns, little things a coach can really improve a lot.</b><br />I'm a big believer that coaching is important, and the Xs and Os of tennis are important, but the most important part is what environment you're in. If you're not in an environment to flourish, you're never going to be good. That's part of the problem with LA. There are great coaches out there, but you don't what the kids are doing all the time. You give a kid a lesson for an hour, that's not going to cut it. Taking lessons from a good coach is not going to make you a great player.<br /><br />You need to be in an atmosphere where you can get stronger, get fitter. That's why I think some of the other countries have more success, because they come up together, kind of piggybacking off of each other. If you practice with someone for a week and that girl goes off and does well, you think I can do that too. I'm a big believer in coming together more as a group, more than as an individual. Even though it's an individual sport, you need that competition and you need that support system.</blockquote><br />Colette is posting the interview in two parts. I hope she asks him more about the women having "not as many weapons" as the men. <br /><br /><br /><b>Notice of Copyright: Unless otherwise stated, all material on this site is the copyright of the author. Text may not be used unless express permission is granted by the author. Feel free to link to or quote this site and include the proper credit.</b> http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-future-isnow-men.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-5377992841851399354Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:39:00 +00002015-02-24T14:00:27.447-05:00Davis CupRoger FedererSo Now We See the Real Manby Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/The-Davis-Cup-trophy-008_zps896e67c3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/The-Davis-Cup-trophy-008_zps896e67c3.jpg" border="0" alt="by Eloy Alonso/Reuters photo The-Davis-Cup-trophy-008_zps896e67c3.jpg"/></a><br /><br />In an absolutely stunning display of arrogance Roger Federer left no doubt about his feelings towards his countrymen and Davis Cup's role in his tennis life. What surprised me is that the comments weren't edited or the entire interview filtered through PR speak to lessen the impact of this words.<br /><br />I don't want to be accused of selective quoting or quoting out of context so I will post the entire interview with <a href=http://news.yahoo.com/roger-federer-says-no-davis-cup-2015-182555385--spt.html"> Sandra Harwitt </a> of the Associated Press. All emphasis is mine.<br /><br /><blockquote>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Roger Federer is skipping the Davis Cup this year after leading Switzerland to its first title in 2014.<br /><br />Federer played the entire Davis Cup season last year, with Switzerland beating France 3-1 in the final. The Davis Cup was the only major competition the 17-time Grand Slam champion had not won.<br /><br />Federer won't be in the lineup when Switzerland opens defense of the title in Belgium on March 6-8. And Federer said he has no plans to play Davis Cup the rest of the year either.<br /><br /><b>"It wasn't a difficult decision," the 33-year-old Federer said Monday at the Dubai tournament. "I have played for so long, and I think by winning it I can finally do whatever I please, to be quite honest."</b><br /><br />The Swiss team in Belgium will also be without 2013 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka.<br /><br />Federer has played in 26 Davis Cup ties since 1999 for an overall 50-17 win-loss record.<br /><br /><b>"It's been a big burden for me throughout my career and one of the things that have caused more difficulties in my life than many other things, I must say," Federer said.</b><br /><br /><b>"I always feel there is so much guilt put on you from the federation or from the ITF more so than anybody else. So I'm happy I was able to finally tick that off and do it altogether."</b><br /><br />Federer said his decision to dedicate himself to the 2014 Davis Cup campaign was more for his teammates than himself.<br /><br /><b>"I totally did it for the boys more than for me, to be quite honest," he said. "I just really wanted Michael (Lammer) and Marco (Chiudinelli) and Stan to get it because they deserve it. So for me, this year, it was very clear that I was not going to play."</b><br /><br />While the Davis Cup is not in Federer's plans, Wawrinka has not decided on whether to play later in the year.<br /><br /><b>"I hope that Stan is going to play, next round or September or whatever it's going to be to keep us in the World Group," Federer said. "Who knows? You never know if they can win it without us, as well. It's an opportunity, but clearly we are not the favorites now playing against Belgium."</b><br /><br />Federer, however, could have to show up for one more Davis Cup tie in the next two years in order to qualify directly for the Swiss Olympic team for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.<br /><br />ITF rules state that a player must compete in Davis Cup for his country once in the season leading up to or in the Olympic year to be eligible to compete at the games.<br /><br /><b>Federer could also be offered a wild card entry into the Olympic tournament.</b></blockquote><br />Well shit. I'm sure glad the burden of representing his country is off his shoulders since it's clear that Davis Cup is just something he did to make the other Swiss players feel better. I think the word I'll using to describe the attitude is patronizing. I was going to choose paternalistic but there are so many other connotations associated with that word patronizing is the better choice. How do you defend the cavalier attitude that comes through even in the non emotional world of cyberspace? <br /><br />What the publication of this interview has done is left his fans unable to defend against charges of arrogance. To read this over several times as I've done since I thought I read it wrong brings up another word to describe Mr. Federer - condescending. No doubt about it he thinks he's entitled to the Olympic Wild Card and until now I would've bet money that he would get it. The implication that he is above his Association and the ITF is apparent. And they have no one to blame but themselves. Both organizations are now in the position of looking like sneaker licking lackeys of one player above all others. I mean we have sick and injured players lining up to play for their countries and this guy thinks he just has to live and breathe to be given with no effort what so many others have worked so hard for.<br /><br />Harwitt is not one of the people you hear about in terms of the tennis press but she is a power in her own right behind the scenes in tennis circles. That this was published with her byline is telling. She could've left it as an AP article leaving her out of it. She didn't.<br /><br />As I type this I haven't heard of any statement being released to explain that Mr. Federer didn't mean what he said and that non fans stop doing the "I told you so" dance. This is a PR disaster of Federer's own making. Let's see how his minions get him out of this one.<br /><br /><br /><b>A Slight Correction</b><br /><br />ASAP Sports released the transcript of Federer's post match interview in Dubai and the quotes Harwitt has in her article are directly from that presser. Here they are in their original format along with a follow up question. The previous question was about the number of fans who came out to watch him play.<br /><br /><blockquote><b>Q. I imagine there will be a big crowd for that. </b><br /><br />ROGER FEDERER: I hope so. I don't know. When I do play doubles, I'm excited about it. Michael Lammer is one of the guys, some of my best friends, was one of best friends on tour and in my life, and he's a guy I have never played doubles with. <br />So I really want to do that before he retires because he's not far off. And we won the Davis Cup last year. I have played doubles with Marco, with Yves, with Stan, with most of those guys but never with Michael other than back in the Junior Swiss Championships when we were 14, 16, 18. So we go way back. That's why we are both excited about it, and I'm very thankful for the wildcard from the tournament organizers.<br /><br /><b>Q. When you have had a little bit more of an extended break than maybe you had planned on or hoped, when you get back there, do you feel like it's great to be here again? Have you missed the actual matches?</b><br /><br />ROGER FEDERER: A bit of both, you know. I like being on the beach. I like being in the gym and on the practice courts and I like being on the match courts. I like everything of it. I think it's important to get the right mix of things. <br />I was going to take a big break regardless of how actually Australia was going to go because the body needed some healing and the mind needed some refreshing.<br />I needed to think about the game plan and the tournament plan I was going to do in the next few months and next year or so. I mean, pretty much I know everything till, Jesus, summer of '16. So from that standpoint, it was good to have that break. <br />It wasn't a buildup as such where the focus was only on fitness. It was important to play enough tennis, and it's nice getting back out there and having thousands root for you and for your opponent, because you can only practice that much after a while without anybody watching you. It just gets a bit boring after a while. So I prefer to play matches after all.<br /><br />(...)<br /><br /><b>Q. Davis Cup, you mentioned just now, was it a difficult decision not to defend the title by playing the first round? What do you think the chances are of staying in the World Group? Will you play in September?<br />ROGER </b><br /><br />FEDERER: No, it wasn't a difficult decision. I have played for so long, and I think by winning it I can finally do whatever I please, to be quite honest. <br /><br />It's been a big burden for me throughout my career and one of the things that have caused more difficulties in my life than many other things, I must say, because I always feel there is so much guilt put on you from the Federation or from the ITF more so than anybody else. So I'm happy I was able to finally tick that off and do it altogether.<br />I mean, I didn't do it just for that. I totally did it for the boys more than for me, to be quite honest. I just really wanted Michael and Marco and Stan to get it because they deserve it. So for me this year it was very clear that I was not going to play anymore after this win, but I have to see how things go. <br /><br />I hope that Stan is going to play, you know, next round or September or whatever it's going to be to keep us in the World Group. Who knows? You never know if they can win it without us, as well. It's an opportunity, but clearly we are not the favorites now playing against Belgium. <br /><br />But I'm sorry for the team because the team is pretty much intact from the staff and from captain and everybody. They are all some of my best friends, so that was the tougher part of it, less the tennis itself.</blockquote><br />The entire transcript is <a href="http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=106560"> HERE </a>http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/so-now-we-see-real-man.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-25226304300898784Thu, 19 Feb 2015 06:49:00 +00002015-02-19T01:49:25.208-05:00Christopher ClareySam SumykVictoria AzarenkaSo...by Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/d0a7de80-659d-4f82-ac5f-a27d86b4b08a_zps269aa6d3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/d0a7de80-659d-4f82-ac5f-a27d86b4b08a_zps269aa6d3.jpg" border="0" alt="Monica Almeida/The New York Times photo d0a7de80-659d-4f82-ac5f-a27d86b4b08a_zps269aa6d3.jpg"/></a><br />Monica Almeida/New York Times<br /><br />I gave myself some time to think about the interview Christopher Clarey of the NY Times had with Victoria Azarenka and published in the February 18 sports section. The article establishes the official time line as told by Sam Sumyk to Clarey and gives his (Sumyk's) account of what happened and when.<br /><br />As many of you recall there was an article in the Sunday Magazine section of the above mentioned NY Times written by the same man, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/sports/tennis/victoria-azarenka-aims-to-return-to-tenniss-ruling-class.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=3"> Christopher Clarey </a><br /><br />For those who haven't read it or have and need a refresher in light of what's happened here are relevant quotes from Clarey's original article.<br /><br /><blockquote>...But as her latest unwanted break from the game comes to an end after three and a half months, her coach, Sam Sumyk, says she is finally pain free.<br /><br />“I think her motivation is pretty good, but I don’t want to get too excited or say too much,” Sumyk said. “Because at the same time last year, I thought 2014 would be a great year for her. All the lights were green. And look what happened.”<br /><br />What happened in the first month of the season was a painful inflammation in her left foot. Sumyk said she later developed plantar fasciitis in the same foot, followed by tendinitis and a knee problem.<br /><br />“I pushed, and I pushed last year, which was not smart,” Azarenka said. “Because it was rushed decisions and part of it was I didn’t trust my own intuition sometimes.” </blockquote><br /><blockquote>...Azarenka remains a resident of Monaco but is finishing work on a residence in Manhattan Beach, Calif., an affluent Los Angeles suburb where her coach, Sumyk, and her agent, Meilen Tu, who are married, live a Frisbee throw from the ocean... </blockquote><br /><blockquote>Azarenka described Sumyk as her life teacher, not just her coach, and she is adamant that there is too big a gap between her image and reality.</blockquote><br />The publication date of the interview is given as January 3,2015.<br /><br />Some life teacher. In the interview published today Sumyk says the following:<br /><br /><blockquote>Sumyk said the offer from Bouchard came after he had decided to split with Azarenka — a split he said was motivated, in part, by the desire to keep progressing.<br /><br />“I’m always looking for challenges,” Sumyk said. “I hate comfort. The moment I am in a comfortable situation, it’s the end of me growing up as a coach or as a person, if you want. I want to be the best coach possible.”<br /><br />(...)<br /><br /><b>Sumyk said that when he returned to Los Angeles from Australia, he received, to his surprise, three coaching offers in two days. He said Bouchard told him plainly that he was the coach she wanted, just as Azarenka had five years earlier.</b><br /><br />“I’m very grateful that another great player is thinking about me,” he said.</blockquote><br />So everything was good to go, he had no plans to stop coaching Azarenka but he still had three offers waiting for him. Isn't that standard for a good coach? People are always on the lookout for a new coach. Why was Bouchard's request the one that changed his mind? Again from the interview that was published Wednesday.<br /><br /><blockquote>Does his choice mean that he believes more in Bouchard’s prospects than he does in the 25-year-old Azarenka’s?<br /><br />“I believe in both pictures,” he said. “I believe Vika is a fantastic player and can be fantastic and even better. I believe Eugenie is in a building process. And I believe she has a lot of great tools also to make it happen. I believe for both of them the future is bright.”</blockquote><br />After mentioning that Azarenka was reluctant to talk about the split from Sumyk she is quoted as saying the following:<br /><br /><blockquote>“In terms of like their situation, I will never comment on that; really it’s none of my business,” she said of Sumyk and Bouchard. “I’m sure we are going to meet again on the court, and there’s going to be a lot of buzz: Oh my God, blah, blah, blah. But I really don’t care about that. I really try to stick to what I’ve got to do and to be focused on my next step, my team.”</blockquote><br />What do I think? I think that Azarenka has no pressure on her whatsoever. Neither does Wim Fissette. While I'm not a fan of his (his antics regarding what his then charge <b>Simona Halep</b> should do in the YEC still leave a bad taste in my mouth)I think it says something that a few weeks ago he was talking about not wanting to travel due to the impending birth of a child and his new tennis academy that he's now in Doha working with Vika. A coaching change is always difficult and it will take time for their relationship to gel and hopefully become one that will make Azarenka return to upper echelon of her sport. Her fans were happy about her return to main tour play in Australia and I believe they will be patient.<br /><br />It's no secret to long time readers that Azarenka has never been a particular favorite of mine. Clarey mentions the medical time out that still haunts her reputation as well it should. No amount of excuses will change what she did. <br /><br />Still it appears that she was the one done wrong in this situation and the tennis world, and fans, will give her and her new team time to get it together. I feel the same way about this that I felt when <b>Li Na</b> had to find out she'd lost her coach online. I was a business professional and manager for many years and the one thing you learn early is never to burn your bridges. Despite the digital age and the impersonal relationships it has spawned common courtesy as my mother used to call it, still means something.<br /><br />I think Azarenka will be fine. The old folks had two expressions that apply to this situation. "Suffering is seasoning" is one. The other is the one I used in my response to Jo. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".<br /><br />Azarenka has been the total professional here. That says something about her character and the people around her. I'm not going to become her biggest fan but I wish her well. That is all anyone can do at this point.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/so.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-5493959510270897014Wed, 18 Feb 2015 16:46:00 +00002015-02-18T11:46:11.843-05:00Sam SumykVictoria AzarenkaVictoria: No Bitternessby Savannah<br /><br />I just read this interview Victoria Azarenka did with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/sports/tennis/no-bitterness-from-victoria-azarenka-after-surprise-split-with-coach.html?_r=0"> Christopher Clarey </a> of the New York Times about the changes in her tennis life. I'll post most of it and comment later since I'm literally on my way out of the door.<br /><br /><b>No Bitterness From Victoria Azarenka After Surprise Split With Coach</b><br />FEB. 18, 2015<br /><br />It ended abruptly for Victoria Azarenka and her longtime coach Sam Sumyk, at least from Azarenka’s perspective.<br /><br />During their five years together, Azarenka won two Grand Slam singles titles, rose to No. 1 and then dropped in the rankings last season while struggling with injuries and personal issues.<br /><br />But Azarenka showed distinct signs of resurgence last month at the Australian Open, and she said she was surprised when Sumyk informed her of his decision to terminate the partnership the day after her fourth-round loss to Dominika Cibulkova.<br /><br />“I never will forget what we achieved together and always will be grateful, but yeah, it was a bit surprising for me,” Azarenka said in a telephone interview on Tuesday from Doha, Qatar. “To me, it’s just sad. There’s no other emotion. There’s no anger. There’s no anything else but just sadness, because it’s like a breakup in a way.”<br /><br />The week after the Australian Open ended, Sumyk was already coaching Eugenie Bouchard, the 20-year-old Canadian who reached the Wimbledon final last year and is now ranked No. 7.<br /><br />On Tuesday, Azarenka, now at No. 50 after playing sparingly in 2014, confirmed that she was training in Doha with Wim Fissette, the Belgian who has coached Kim Clijsters and Simona Halep.<br /><br />“Vika is one of the best players in the world, and hopefully I can make her even a better player than she is right now,” Fissette said of Azarenka in an email. “I felt from the first conversation with her that she really is very motivated to get back to the top of women’s tennis, and I feel that now being with her in Doha.”<br /><br />Sumyk said his decision to leave Azarenka, who is Belarussian, for Bouchard was not driven by money.<br /><br />“No, my deal with Vika was very good,” he said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles on Tuesday. “I would like to tell you, ‘O.K., I don’t like money.’ No. Like everybody, I’ve got to pay my taxes, but pleasure is my No. 1 priority.”<br /><br />Sumyk said the offer from Bouchard came after he had decided to split with Azarenka: a split he said was motivated, in part, by the desire to keep progressing.<br /><br />“I’m always looking for challenges,” Sumyk said. “I hate comfort. The moment I am in a comfortable situation, it’s the end of me growing up as a coach or as a person, if you want. I want to be the best coach possible.”<br /><br />Sumyk said he had also told Azarenka she could benefit from hearing a fresh voice. “I’m not going to go into why I said that,” he said. “That’s between us, but that’s what I told her.”<br /><br />Azarenka needed a crash course in coaching candidates after Sumyk’s unexpected departure. Fissette coached Clijsters during her successful comeback to the tour from 2009 to 2011, and then helped Halep get to the French Open final and reach No. 2 last year. Halep’s decision to split with Fissette after the season was unexpected, and she attributed it to wanting to work with a fellow Romanian.<br /><br />Fissette was a candidate to coach the young American Madison Keys, but Keys elected to work with Lindsay Davenport and Davenport’s husband, Jon Leach, and went on to reach the Australian Open semifinals last month.<br /><br />Azarenka said her agent Meilen Tu had made the initial contact with Fissette before Azarenka followed up.<br /><br />“I know he had great experience with other players, and for me, what’s important is the personality more than the titles,” she said. “I don’t look for a coach to be a one week or one month. I look for somebody now I can have a good long-term relationship with.”<br /><br />Fissette said Azarenka would spend some time training at his academy in Belgium. “As I just started an academy in January, we had to find a good compromise, and I believe we did,” he said. “I’ll be with her at most of the tournaments.”<br /><br />Sumyk, a Frenchman, is married to Tu, a former American touring professional. They live in Newport Beach, Calif., where Azarenka also owns a home. But Azarenka said that Sumyk’s decision would not affect the player-agent relationship.<br /><br />“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the long term, but I’m happy with my situation right now,” Azarenka said.<br /><br />“I think it’s their business to kind of block it out, business and family,” she said of Tu and Sumyk. “But if we would have ended things with Sam in a bad way, I think it would have been weird. But I feel we ended it on good terms. I mean it’s difficult to call it good, because it feels sad. But in a way, it was a good ending, so there’s no weirdness.”<br /><br />In an interview before the season, Azarenka called Sumyk her “life teacher” and talked extensively about his role in helping her understand not just her game but herself.<br /><br />Last year, she said she struggled with depression after breaking up with her boyfriend, the musician Stefan Gordy, also known as Redfoo.<br /><br />Now she has to cope with more change in her inner circle as she prepares to play in Doha next week.<br /><br />“It was tough, because of the relationship we have,” she said of Sumyk. “It’s more than just a player and a coach, so that’s a tough part. But the professional decision I have to respect that, and I do.”<br /><br />Sumyk said that when he returned to Los Angeles from Australia, he received, to his surprise, three coaching offers in two days. He said Bouchard told him plainly that he was the coach she wanted, just as Azarenka had five years earlier.<br /><br />“I’m very grateful that another great player is thinking about me,” he said.<br /><br />Does his choice mean that he believes more in Bouchard’s prospects than he does in the 25-year-old Azarenka’s?<br /><br />“I believe in both pictures,” he said. “I believe Vika is a fantastic player and can be fantastic and even better. I believe Eugenie is in a building process. And I believe she has a lot of great tools also to make it happen. I believe for both of them the future is bright.”<br /><br />Azarenka was reticent to discuss Sumyk’s decision to work with Bouchard. But she did make it clear that her tweet on Feb. 12 — “Level of excitement right now on a scale 1 to 10 is about a 100” — had nothing to do with Bouchard losing her first match under Sumyk that day to Mona Barthel. Instead, Azarenka said the tweet had everything to do with her finally getting to see the film “Fifty Shades of Grey.”<br /><br />“I read the books and everything and watched the trailer 100 times with my friends, so when we finally got the tickets, I was so excited, so I tweeted that,” she said. “And after the movie, I come out and see like on the Twitter: ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe she said that.’ ”<br /><br />Azarenka said she did not even know Bouchard was playing that day. “In terms of like their situation, I will never comment on that; really it’s none of my business,” she said of Sumyk and Bouchard. “I’m sure we are going to meet again on the court, and there’s going to be a lot of buzz: Oh my God, blah, blah, blah. But I really don’t care about that. I really try to stick to what I’ve got to do and to be focused on my next step, my team.”<br /><br />Azarenka said she believed the atmosphere on the women’s tour had become much more collegial and that she intended to keep it that way.<br /><br />“I think we had enough drama in the women’s game, and I think the guys show us in a way really a great example: that you can be competitive but you still can be friendly,” she said. “So for me, I’m not going to try to think of this situation like it’s a drama.”<br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/victoria-no-bitterness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-7344516046864880975Tue, 17 Feb 2015 19:39:00 +00002015-02-17T14:39:39.015-05:00Alexander ZverevElias YmerMadison KeysVictoria AzarenkaWim FissetteVictoria Azarenka Makes It Officialby Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/8a84ef3c-eaf0-425e-9787-d1727562a89f_zps25363ee2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/8a84ef3c-eaf0-425e-9787-d1727562a89f_zps25363ee2.jpg" border="0" alt="V&amp;W via her Twitter photo 8a84ef3c-eaf0-425e-9787-d1727562a89f_zps25363ee2.jpg"/></a><br /><blockquote>victoria azarenka @vika7 · 3h 3 hours ago<br />Welcome to the team Wim! @wimfissette </blockquote><br />With this simple announcement and photo on Twitter <b>Victoria Azarenka</b> confirmed that she will be working with Wim Fissette as her new coach.<br /><br />After being blind sided by her coach of five years defection Azarenka had kept her social media presence low key and self centered until a fan in Doha spotted her hitting with Fissette and posted the pictures online. There were some reports that Vika would only be working with Fissette for about a week but the above Tweet implies a longer contract is in effect. I don't think Fissette would sign on for a one week trial as was reported in Belgian tennis circles since he has a known track record. His compatability with his new charge is what had to be proven.<br /><br />What will he do for Azarenka? To be honest her former coach did all the heavy lifting changing her from a temperamental court presence to one who is in better control of herself and her game. Fissette will need to smooth out some rough areas in her approach to playing tennis though. The most frequently mentioned area by her fans is her serve. <br /><br />I had to make sure Azarenka's news was deemed worthy by the WTA official site and I saw that they have indeed published something about it. Good. I wouldn't want one player to be favored over all others when it comes to coaching changes. I do wonder why they chose to picture Fissette with Kim Clijsters though. <br /><br />I don't see Azarenka scheduled to play before Indian Wells so that is more than enough time for her and her new coach to make decisions on what to change and how to change it. I thought she'd play one of the warm up events to IW but it doesn't appear that she will.<br /><br />I wish Victoria luck with her new arrangement personally and professionally.<br /><br /><b>Madison Keys </b><br /><br />While looking to see where Azarenka is next scheduled to play I saw that <b>Madison Keys</b> has pulled out of Acapulco. Don't forget that that event is now played on a hard court and would've been a nice warm up for her before entering the cauldron of IW especially with Serena returning after over a decade away. I haven't read about her being injured either. I hope this isn't the US "focus on the majors" attitude coming from her and her team.<br /><br /><b>Miscellaneous</b><br /><br />I watched <b>Elias Ymer</b> play Tommy Robredo in Rio last evening. Robredo is never an easy out even for seasoned veterans and while he's still coming back from injury I had no expectations of Ymer winning a set let alone the match. <br /><br />Ymer was given a Wild Card into the Main Draw of this event and while a match against Robredo is a good way to see where you are especially on clay I wish he'd gotten into the Main Draw via Qualies instead. Handing a prospect WC's ends up being counterproductive because it can make the weight of expectations that much heavier and increase the sense of failure and being unable to compete at the highest level of more of a thought pattern than it needs be at a young age.<br /><br />His game is still suited to hard court play but he is thinking a bit better than he was when I first saw him. <br /><br />Meanwhile the kid I'm following for the next year <b>Alexander Zverev</b> played himself into the MD at Marseille where he will face <b>Gaël Monfils </b> in first round play.<br /><br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/victoria-azarenka-makes-it-official.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-1388082111441572169Sun, 15 Feb 2015 20:46:00 +00002015-02-15T15:46:45.873-05:002015 ATP Tour2015 WTA TourLTA NewsUSTA NewsThis and That In Tennis Week of 2/15/2015by Savannah<br /><br /><b>USTA Player Development News</b><br /><br /><a href="http://tenniskalamazoo.blogspot.com/2015/02/usta-player-development-update.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Zootennis+%28ZooTennis%29"> Colette Lewis </a> gives an update on the search for a new head of USTA Player Development.<br /><br /><blockquote>The successor to USTA Player Development General Manager Patrick McEnroe has not yet been named, but the subject surfaced again this week when it was announced that James Blake had been named chairman of the USTA Foundation's Board of Directors. The 35-year-old Blake, who retired from professional tennis in 2013, was considered a front runner for McEnroe's position, and although I've been told this appointment doesn't necessarily rule him out, it could indicate the USTA is still actively considering other candidates.<br /><br />I received this statement yesterday from Chris Widmaier, the USTA's Managing Director of Corporate Communications regarding the timeline for filling the position.<br /><br />...the USTA is still in the search phase for our new General Manager of Player Development. Quite a number of potential candidates have been identified and have been interviewed to date. Our top priority is securing the best candidate for the position and therefore have not set a strict deadline to conclude the search.<br /></blockquote><br />Those in the running are Tom Gullikson, Martin Blackman, and Craig Tiley, the tennis coach at Illinois for the last twelve years. Mary Jo Fernandez name has also come up. Although her husband is not with IMG any longer he is still an agent. Can you say conflict of interest? And not for the first time? What better way to find potential clients? Oh but of course Mary Jo wouldn't dare do that would she?<br /><br /><b>Antwerp - The Anti Climax</b><br /><br /><b>Andrea Petkovic</b> played an amazing week of tennis in the Belgian city and while I'm not a big fan I was looking forward to the Final where she would face another woman who flew under the radar and played a great week, <b>Carla Suárez Navarro</b>. After suffering with injuries for three straight years I wanted to see if Petkovic could insert herself into the conversation regarding the post 2016 WTA.<br /><br />Instead of that Carla, known in tennis circles as CSN, withdrew from the final with a stiff neck that made it impossible for her to serve or play without discomfort. Voila. Petkovic is the champion. And the Tournament Director, Kim Clijsters, got to play an exhibition set that she won 5-3. Clijsters made the amazing, to me anyway, statement that implied that without her in the game Belgian fans weren't interested in tennis. Ego much? Crowds were sparse during the work week but picked up dramatically on the weekend with court side seats appearing to be full. There are some who said that the the poor attendance during the week was why the WTA was abandoning Europe for Asia. I don't know what those people were inhaling, injecting or smoking but NO that is not a good analogy. Unless things have changed radically those big beautiful tennis stadiums in China remain mostly empty for the length of a tournament. I heard - the WTA and CTA don't release figures - that attendance at Shenzen was abysmal. I can't verify that since it's depressing to watch tennis in an empty stadium with "fans" who know nothing about the sport yakking it up during matches and cheering in the wrong places. Most of the top women players with a few exceptions and one big exception are from Eastern Europe but there is no way for fans to see them play. The corporate line is that those countries are too poor to support tennis. Newsflash. Outside of a comparatively small elite China is a poor country as well. <br /><br />I saw one tennis journalist who said the tournament's return was cursed. That's a bit extreme no? In this day and age players pay much more attention to their health and well being and you get situations like this. CSN is not known for phantom injuries popping up at the last minute so I think she deserves to be cut some slack here. The title doesn"t come with an asterisk next to Petkovic's name.<br /><br /><b>The LTA Makes Good On It's Threats</b><br /><br />I've been talking about the situation in Britain with the Lawn Tennis Association and tennis players for a few years now. Every new head of the LTA threatens to cut the stipends it pays it's players until or unless they show more than an effort on the court. It seems that the organization is finally putting its money where its mouth is and the fall out has begun.<br /><br />Michael Downey, formerly of Tennis Canada, took over a little over a year ago in January 2014. With no deep ties to anyone in England he seems to be moving the LTA out of the 1950's and into the 21st century reality of tennis. How? A ranking inside of 250(!) will no longer assure a British player of a WC into Wimbledon. Why did it anyway? This <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/tennis/31318008"> BBC Sports </a> article says the following (emphasis mine):<br /><br /><blockquote>... an LTA spokesperson says it now plans to nominate those who "have the best chance of performing well".<br />Of the eight players given wildcards in the 2014 singles main draw, only Naomi Broady won her first-round match.<br /><br />LTA chief executive Michael Downey and director of player development Bob Brett, both of whom joined the governing body in the past two years, were known not to be fans of the previous criteria.<br /><br />"This revised approach will enable the LTA to give consideration to attributes in addition to rankings," an LTA spokesperson added.<br /><br /><b>"These additional attributes will include attitude, professionalism, game development and recent form.</b>"<br /></blockquote><br />One can only hope that the USTA will be able to implement the same criteria for its players going forward.<br /><br />Meanwhile one British player has threatened to throw in the towel saying without his stipend he can't afford to keep playing for England. <b>Daniel Cox</b>, ranked 245 in the world, says he can't take the pressure. His <a href="http://www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Big-Read-8216-bad-state-mind-didn-8217-t-want/story-25980029-detail/story.html"> local area newspaper </a> reported the following:<br /><br /><blockquote>Cox says every tournament he travels to presents a huge financial gamble because he has to win sufficient prize money to at least cover his costs.<br /><br />Last year Cox’s great gamble paid off when he qualified for the sporting nirvana – Wimbledon – where he faced former world number 25 Jeremy Chardy in the first round.<br /><br />Although he eventually lost that match, Cox certainly announced his arrival at the sport’s top table by thrilling the British spectators and taking a set from the Frenchman.<br /><br />However, the pressure on Cox merely to qualify for the All England Championships was almost too much to bear and he admits he paid a heavy price.<br /><br />The Lincoln professional says his nerves are constantly stretched because of the pressure on him to win sufficient prize money just to cover his flight and hotel costs.<br /><br />“All the stress I had before Wimbledon ended with a massive high because I got in,” said Cox.<br /><br />“But when I came down after the high, that’s when it all hit me. I was in such a bad state of mind I didn’t want to get up in the morning and was unable to make even the smallest decision.<br /></blockquote><br />The article goes on. Again all emphasis is mine.<br /><br /><blockquote>The opportunities for British players to earn enough money to live on have been reduced following changes in the professional game.<br /><br /><b>The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) reduced its Tournament Bonus Scheme and Cox predicts it could lead to more of the UK’s best players being forced to quit.</b><br /><br /><b>“The LTA have made so many cuts,” added Cox. “It is very frustrating for us as professionals. We are in the top 10 in the country and we are not told why the bonus scheme was cut.</b><br /><br />“I believe the number of professional players in this country will be slashed. I have friends who have quit already because they can’t afford it anymore.<br /><br />“Between now and this year’s Wimbledon tournament is probably going to be the most important time of my career.<br /><br />“I have to make it pay, or I have to find a company willing to sponsor me.<br /><br />“Most players have a coach with them and many also have a physio. I can’t afford to do any of that.<br /><br />“The top 100 or 200 players in the world have their coach with them on court, while I am there alone.<br /><br />“It means I have twice as much to think about compared to the other guy, because their coach will organise rackets, organise practice sessions, organise his flights.<br /><br />“All of that stuff takes the pressure off you as a player so you can concentrate on actually winning.</blockquote><br />No offense Mr. Cox but right now there is only one huge player from the British Isles and he's not you. If being top ten in your country is a goal in itself so be it. Does it guarantee you a place in a major where your Federation is footing most of your bill? Should it? Don't forget these are outsiders making decisions the LTA couldn't bring itself to make. The threat that the number of pro players in England will fall is hollow since none of the current crop of male players is anywhere near the top 100. Remember <b>Dustin Brown</b> traveling from tournament to tournament in his van? He's played himself into a ranking where he doesn't need a Wild Card anymore and he plays Main Tour and Challenger tour events. <br /><br />If they dared make the same decision the LTA has made in the US I'm sure the whining would be just as loud. Let's see if the new heads of the LTA stick to their guns.<br /><br /><b>The Winter/Summer South American Golden Swing</b><br /><br />The temperature is somewhere below freezing at the moment in New York City but the Golden Swing is underway in South America where summer is holding sway. <br /><br />The first tournament I watched some of was in Quito, Ecuador. To say that the lights going out in the middle of a semifinal didn't do much to elevate the continent's reputation in terms of its infrastructure but when the players could compete the level was good. This is the tournament that replaced Viña del Mar. Attendance looked to be okay.<br /><br />The tournament in Sao Paulo Brazil just ended with a Qualifier <b>Luca Vanni</b> pushing veteran <b>Pablo Cuevas</b> to his limits. Next week will see Rio de Janeiro host mens and women's tournaments. The swing ends in Acapulco which has sadly become a hard court event. I guess all the big name US players will be there. I'll watch with nostalgia coloring my vision of the tournament. I really enjoy the few weeks respite from the hard courts. Changing Acapulco's surface just forces the change in tactics and style of tennis on someone like me faster. <br /><br /><b>Dubai/Doha</b><br /><br />I'm not quite sure why do many WTA fans want this part of the tour done away with. What would take the place of these tournaments? More play in China? That makes no sense when the big US spring hard court tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami will follow. Oh, did I mention those two events are point heavy? Maybe the thinking is more players will go to Acapulco? Surely they're not going to go to Kuala Lumpur? Monterrey? I really don't know what the thinking is behind the push to do away with those events. <br /><br /><b>Kei Nishikori</b><br /><br />I picked him as my Player of the Year for 2014. He played as if he was ready to compete against the Top Four and I expected him to start 2015 with a bang. Instead he's been struggling against players he should be able to beat in his sleep if he were playing with the form he had at the end of 2014. As that great tennis sage <b>Marion Bartoli</b> said "It's easier to be the hunter than the hunted". There's still a lot of 2015 to go though. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/this-and-that-in-tennis-week-of-2152015.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-2500215440456275849Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:03:00 +00002015-02-10T15:03:13.642-05:00Eugenie BouchardSam SumykSimona HalepVictoria AzarenkaBouchard Speaks about Coaching Change in Antwerpby Savannah<br /><br /><br />The WTA has posted the first public remarks by Eugenie Bouchard on her hiring of Sam Sumyk. The interview appears on its official web site.<br /><br /><blockquote>I've just started working with Sam. We've spent some time training in Montréal the past week or so, and now we're here for our first tournament together. I really respect him as a coach - he's done great things. Nothing is guaranteed, but I hope he can help me improve and help me reach my goals.<br /><br /><b>"When I was looking for a coach I wanted someone who's played or who's been coaching someone who'd been there, getting to No.1 or winning Grand Slams, and he's done that. He's what I wanted."</b><br /><br />How exactly did the two link up? "My fitness trainer, Scott, has been friends with Sam for a while now. They've both been on tour for a while. After the Australian Open was done, Scott found out that Sam wasn't going to be working with Vika anymore, and he suggested we meet. The rest is history."<br /><br />And what have they been working on so far? "We work on a few different things I hadn't worked on before. I like his mentality and his approach. We haven't been working together very long yet, only a week, so we'll see how it goes, but I'm excited to play this week in our first tournament together.<br /><br />"<b>But generally I'm keeping my game style.</b> Each coach has their own philosophy and their own ideas. I want to keeping playing the aggressive way I like to play, but we'll be changing a few things here and there. I'm always trying to improve, and that's the point of a new coach - hearing a new voice."</blockquote><br />The complete article can be found <a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/4477523/title/bouchard-on-sam-sumyk-antwerp-more#.VNpd1tdgmmA.twitter"> HERE </a><br /><br />Her remarks are the exact opposite of those made by Simona Halep after firing Wim Fissette. Halep, you will recall, said she needed someone who understands her and is coming from a Romanian perspective.<br /><br />Nothing official or unofficial has come from <b>Victoria Azarenka</b>'s camp but there are rumors that she and Sumyk parted back in December. Meilen Tu, Sumyk's wife, is said to still be working as Azarenka's agent.<br /><br />More updates as warranted.<br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/bouchard-speaks-about-coaching-change.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-255722072251871844Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:59:00 +00002015-02-09T13:59:57.117-05:00Alexander ZverevMadison KeysLooking Forward: Who Best Represents the Future of Tennis?by Savannah<br /><br />It's pretty obvious that tennis is starting to go through a transition. Don't get me wrong; the established stars still have a few years of dominance to go and at the moment there's no need to think any of the new jacks are able to shove them out of the way.<br /><br />I've said several times that this era of the superstar player, the man or woman who moves beyond the narrow world of professional tennis is just about done. I feel that after 2016 we're going to see more subdued stars; men and women who are competent but not spectacular: who don't capture the imaginations of fans the way the giants of the last ten years or so have. It's not that they don't have personality it's that they don't have that "thing"that gets fans to flood practice courts, generate millions of followers on social media and scrums at their public appearances. There are some, mostly from countries without representation in the top ten or countries that are barely hanging on to ranked players in the top twenty are saying the new players should look to the likes of John McEnroe and liven up the court with gesticulations, cursing and other antics that to me are best left in the past. If you're asking for a WWE type player isn't that admitting that the tennis to come will be boring and won't be able to attract fans on its own?<br />If a player like that makes it to the top five in the world more power to him or her. Frankly I don't see it happening.<br /><br />So what's a long standing tennis fan to do? Lament the passing of a Golden Age and withdraw into his or her cave? This fan actually did that for awhile in the late 80's into the 90's. It was when I took my daughter to her first US Open when she was about seven or eight that I got back into the sport.<br /><br />Since I'm not going to hibernate I thought about picking two players, a male and a female, to track for the next couple of years to see how they tiptoe through the minefield of professional tennis. Who should that player be? What criteria should they have to meet?<br /><br />My first criteria was age. I didn't want someone already in their twenties or who had already been picked as the next best thing. Temperamental brats were not considered. <br /><br />But how young should I start to look? <b>Francis Tiafoe</b> of the United States is a promising junior with an outsize personality and a still maturing game. I'm starting to read more about <b>Michael Mmoh</b>, also of the United States but I've never seen him play and he confines himself to Junior's for now. There's <b>Gianni Mina</b> of France who played a nice game at Roland Garros a few years ago and hasn't been seen or heard of much since then. Borna Ćorić is also a player to watch. He stepped in it big time declaring himself the best of the up and comers just before the AO and hasn't shown much since that incident. He's reading and believing his own hype and that is dangerous.<br /><br />Am I pointedly ignoring Australian men? Yes. Until they start disciplining their players and downplay the badass as champion meme they seem infatuated with at the moment there's no need to talk about them. A player who curses ballkids and fans alike is not the kind of player I can support.<br /><br />And what about the young women? Much is being made of <b>Belinda Bencic</b> who has shown that she has a healthy sense of herself and what she should be doing. The skillset she needs is a work in progress.<br /><b>Zarina Diyas</b> and <b>Ana Konjuh</b> are also mentioned as stars of the future. We'll see. There's also <b>Katie Swan</b> of Great Britain who generated quite a bit of excitement in Melbourne. At 15 she's out of the base age I wanted. As every parent knows children change a lot between 15 and 19 and then from 19 to 21. It's a process that sees goals and personalities change. What a kid wants at 15 may not be what they want at 21.<br /><br />I also decided that I wanted to focus on young players who were appearing regularly on the Main Tour and who had accomplished something worth paying attention to. Has a player made an unexpected showing in a major or on the Main Tour? Are they working their way up to the main tour(s) and showing respect not only for themselves but for the sport? Are they making measurable improvement in point construction and style of play? By this I mean not focusing on the majors but willing to play the smaller International's and 250's against established players who may not be superstars of the game but play well enough for a young player to hone his or her skills and game so that when they get to a major they're not still playing Junior level tennis. This is a major issue for young players. Some Federations want their players to focus on the majors to the exclusion of everything else. It'll be interesting to see if any real stars come from those raised under those systems.<br /><br />So enough of the chit chat. Who am I going to be looking at? <br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/14b55316-3f67-49cc-8212-3c2efff25631_zps61eeceab.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/14b55316-3f67-49cc-8212-3c2efff25631_zps61eeceab.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 14b55316-3f67-49cc-8212-3c2efff25631_zps61eeceab.jpg"/></a><br />The young male I decided on was <b>Alexander Zverev</b> of Germany. Here's his CV via Wiki.<br /><br />Born 20 April 1997 (age 17)<br />Hamburg, Germany<br />Height 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)<br />Turned pro 2014<br />Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)<br />Career record 4–6<br />Career titles 0<br />Highest ranking No. 135 (20 October 2014)<br />Current ranking No. 137 (10 November 2014)<br /><br />I was looking at Ćorić but he's fallen into the limelight due to lack of a good PR team. His tennis has been, well not good recently either. So I decided on Zverev. In 2014 he won the Junior AO title and at the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig defeated three top 100 players: Tobias Kamke in the first round, top seed Andrey Golubev in the semifinal, and Paul Henri Mathieu in the final. At the main tour level he's defeated Robin Haase, Mikhail Youzhny and Santiago Giraldo. I saw him play at Stuttgart and again the following week where he got into the MD via a Wild Card. Just today (February 9) he lost in the first round to Roberto Bautista Agut 4 & 1 at Rotterdam. The German's seem to be rushing him and he's being given WC's into the MD's of prominent tournaments, something that may not be a good thing for him at this time. I've seen him play. When he's relaxed and there are no expectations he's got a very nice, fairly mature game. But he's still 17 and when pressured he plays like a 17 year old. Giving him these wild cards may serve to destroy his confidence instead of building it.<br />I'll be checking in on him from time to time during 2015 to see how he's doing.<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/2a02c50b-cde1-4679-aff0-b5caacb6fb82_zpsb706ed08.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/2a02c50b-cde1-4679-aff0-b5caacb6fb82_zpsb706ed08.jpg" border="0" alt="by Mal Fairclough AFP Getty photo 2a02c50b-cde1-4679-aff0-b5caacb6fb82_zpsb706ed08.jpg"/></a><br />photo via Mal Fairclough AFP Getty<br /><br />Why <b>Madison Keys</b>? As you know I've been a fan of hers for a couple of years now. Of all the young Americans I've always felt that she has the most potential because she has the talent and drive, and was obviously beyond what the folks at USTA Player Development could do for her. By chosing to be coached by Jon and Lindsay Davenport Leach she's made a choice that will work for her. They are from the same class, are compatible astologically, and seem to have bonded very well. Lindsay is not a USTA sycophant and will be the person Keys needs to transition from a juvenile approach to the game - all shots and no strategy - to a game that will make her a competitor on the world stage that is professional tennis. She has a title to defend in the spring and it's going to be interesting to see how she approaches that. I did try to look up her schedule up to Roland Garros but as yet she doesn't have a Facebook page and I wasn't able to find anything. I'm sure she'll play at both Indian Wells and Miami. I wonder if she'll go to Europe for that clay court swing?<br /><br />Here's a bit of her CV, also via Wiki.<br /><br />Born February 17, 1995 (age 19)<br />Rock Island, Illinois<br />Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)<br />Turned pro April 17, 2009<br />Plays Right handed (two-handed backhand)<br />Coach(es) Lindsay Davenport<br />Career record 128-80<br />Career titles 1 WTA, 3 ITF<br />Highest ranking No. 20 (February 2, 2015)<br />Current ranking No. 20 (February 2, 2015)<br /><br />It's going to be an interesting year for both of these young players especially if they're allowed to progress slowly and steadily without a lot of hype and pressure. I'll give a progress report when appropriate, hopefully after the US Hardcourt Swing.http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/looking-forward-who-best-represents.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-3135182731059536982Fri, 06 Feb 2015 20:28:00 +00002015-02-06T15:28:13.244-05:00Eugenie BouchardJill SmollerMeilen TuSam SumykSerena WilliamsVera ZvonarevaVictoria AzarenkaSam Sumyk Dumps Victoria Azarenka for Eugenie Bouchardby Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/16e7a769-15b9-4aac-9981-09ea6bbd4599_zps800f2178.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/16e7a769-15b9-4aac-9981-09ea6bbd4599_zps800f2178.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 16e7a769-15b9-4aac-9981-09ea6bbd4599_zps800f2178.jpg"/></a><br />With the above selfie, captioned "Let's start with a selfie Serious Sam" <b>Eugenie Bouchard</b> confirmed what Canadian journalist Stephanie Myles reported early Friday morning, that Sam Sumyk was now her coach.<br /><br />Most fans waited for formal announcements from both Bouchard and <b>Victoria Azarenka</b> but it seems that's not what's going to happen. Sumyk and Azarenka have been together for about five years. Before Azarenka he coached Vera Zvonareva. His strength seems to be building confidence in a player so that they can maximize their game. Bouchard needs someone to break her "game" down to the studs, someone who will start from "let's see if you can hit the ball over the net" and help her to think on court instead of bashing the ball over the net with all the subtlety of someone wielding a sledgehammer.<br /><br />The interesting part is that Sumyk's wife, Meilen Tu, the former player, is Victoria Azarenka's agent and works for Lagardere, the French PR firm. She also travelled with Victoria and her husband. Bouchard left Lagardere for IMG and Jill Smoller, <b>Serena Williams</b> long time agent, is now the lead person on her account. Did Sumyk get a deal for his wife? With no formal announcement that situation, as I type this, is unknown.<br /><br />In the end tennis is a business and no matter how serious fans feel about Bouchard Sumyk made what he feels is the best deal for himself. Yeah, he looks like a deer stuck in headlights in that selfie, like a man who may only now be realizing what he's done, but he made his bed and now he's got to lie in it. <br /><br />I have read unsourced reports about Smoller having had several coaches tryout with Bouchard including Larry Stefanki. As I said these reports are unsourced. <br /><br />Azarenka is now looking for a new coach and United States sources are saying she will have one by next week. There's a lot of snark around about how Sumyk dumped the superior player but someone thinks he can make her a Slam winner otherwise he wouldn't be there. <br /><br />Doesn't this remind you of the <b>Li Na </b>situation where she found out Thomas Hogstedt would be coaching <b>Maria Sharapova</b> either online or in the newspaper? <br /><br />Anyway let's see how long this lasts. If someone who has known her for years said publicly that he didn't want to travel anymore rather than coach her (that's the tennis equivalent of a politician saying he's resigning to spend more time with his family by the way) I don't know if Sumyk is ready for the ego he's going to be dealing with. Then again why should I care? He's made his bed...<br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/sam-sumyk-dumps-victoria-azarenka-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-4215286987467402299Wed, 04 Feb 2015 20:04:00 +00002015-02-04T15:04:32.796-05:002015 Australian OpenIndian WellsSerena WilliamsThe Rear View Mirror: AusOpen 2015by Savannah<br /><br /><b>Complete list of Champions</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Men's Singles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Serbia Novak Djokovic</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Women's Singles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">United States Serena Williams</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Men's Doubles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Italy Simone Bolelli / Italy Fabio Fognini</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Women's Doubles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Mixed Doubles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Switzerland Martina Hingis / India Leander Paes</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Boys' Singles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Russia Roman Safiullin</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Girls' Singles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Slovakia Tereza Mihalíková</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Boys' Doubles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Australia Jake Delaney / Australia Marc Polmans</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Girls' Doubles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Czech Republic Miriam Kolodziejová / Czech Republic Markéta Vondroušová</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Wheelchair Men's Singles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Japan Shingo Kunieda</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Wheelchair Women's Singles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Netherlands Jiske Griffioen</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Wheelchair Quad Singles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Australia Dylan Alcott</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Wheelchair Men's Doubles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">France Stéphane Houdet / Japan Shingo Kunieda</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Wheelchair Women's Doubles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Japan Yui Kamiji / United Kingdom Jordanne Whiley</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Wheelchair Quad Doubles</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">United Kingdom Andrew Lapthorne / United States David Wagner</div><br />The first of the year major was ser up to be a showcase of New Guard vs the Old Guard with a couple of big exeptions. You had <b>Madison Keys</b> living up to the potential I for one thought she had despite and maybe because of the lack of hype around her.On the men's side there were those who thought <b>Grigor Dimitrov</b> would show the potential that's been ascribed to him by many who follow tennis. Instead he showed exactly why he's not quite ready to snatch the mantle of superstardom from the now reconsituted Big Four of men's tennis. The much hyped <b>Eugenie Bouchard</b> showed that she may be able to beat up on lower ranked players with her stunningly ugly brand of tennis but when faced with one of the top players she's got nothing and can barely think her way through a point let alone a game. Surprisingly <b>Simona Halep </b> crumbled as well. Maybe she needs to look beyond her country and hire a coach who has been where she wants to go. The same can be said of Bouchard's countryman <b>Milos Raonic</b>. With little to no game outside of his serve and basically unable to move while many think he's leading the charge for the future right now he's nothing more than a servebot.<br /><br />As my friend and fellow blogger @Bridgepea pointed out on Twitter the Grand Slam channel for the US ESPN chose an interesting way to promote the women's singles final between <b>Serena Williams</b> and <b>Maria Sharapova</b>.<br />Before discussing their Final let's look back at the road both women took to get there, starting with the fact that Serena was sick the entire two weeks. At times it sounded as if she were going to hack up a lung. I thought it sounded like a pneumonia cough but I read it's bronchitis. As the top seed Serena anchored the top of the draw. She faced a veritable Murderer's row of players in her part of the draw. Yes <b>Vera Zvonareva</b> was just coming back and Serena should've run over her but like most players Vera elevated her game against Serena and played a spirited first set before Serena figured out what she was doing and romped in the second set.<br /><br />After Vera came <b>Elina Svitolina</b> one of the up and comers who won the first set over Serena before Serena once again saw what she was doing and won the next two sets easily. Then came <b>Garbiñe Muguruza</b> who boasted a win over Serena and not much else coming into Melbourne. Once again the World Number One dropped a set and looked down and out but she came back and won. Notice the pattern so far?<br /><br />Many expected <b>Dominika Cibulkova</b> to give Serena a hard time but Serena won in straight sets playing aggressively despite still showing signs of illness.<br /><br />The big match for Serena would be against Madison Keys who won out over a reinvigorated <b>Venus Williams</b> in three hard fought sets. In hindsight this match was the true women's final. There was the amazing first set that Serena won in a tiebreak to five and the second set where Serena ran up a 5-1 lead and saw Madison fight off nine or ten match points before Serena won the set and match 6-2. The final would be fought between Serena and Maria Sharapova.<br /><br />Sharapova faced <b>Petra Martic</b> (unseeded), <b>Alexandra Panova</b>, also unseeded but who came very close to eliminating Sharapova from the tournament before she blinked and lost the third set 5-7. Next came the number 31 seed <b>Zarina Diyas</b> who had nothing to bother her with, followed by the number 21 seed <b>Peng Shuai</b>, again nothing to bother Sharapova with, and then the match the WTA and US commentators felt would be the match of the tournament where Eugenie Bouchard would face Maria Sharapova. The only player who had a softer draw than Sharapova was Bouchard who romped through a group of players including <b>Irina-Camellia Begu</b> who had created a bit of buzz on her way to facing Bouchard and who seemed to forget how the game is played. She did take a set off of the WTA Golden Girl but otherwise went away meekly. <br /><br />So THE FUTURE faced THE PAST and it was supposed to be a battle royal between two equally matched players. You have to wonder what Bouchard the comms were watching because frankly it was never in doubt that Sharapova was not going to lose because in the end Bouchard doesn't have the game or experience to defeat her. The match was a very routine straight set win.<br /><br />After Bouchard came <b>Ekaterina Makarova</b>, newly arrived in the top ten who sent <b>Simona Halep</b> home with a surprisingly easy win over her. The same Makarova who played relentless tennis up to the semi final seemed confused on court, which is the most charitable way to describe how she played, or rather did not play. <br /><br />By this time the press had worked itself into a lather predicting that Sharapova would finally win a match against Serena. It was obvious that Serena was still ill but even pale and coughing violently Serena was not going to lose to Sharapova. When it became obvious, even in the second set where Sharapova fought back to force a tiebreak, that that woman with the toughest will was surnamed Williams and that once again she would defeat the woman some want to see as her arch rival despite their head to head. That the ESPN promo featured "four time GS winner Maria Sharapova" vs Serena Williams (who didn't get her GS total mentioned at all) says where the media was for this match. Serena has fulfilled the prophecy of her father who said that between his two daughters his youngest would be The One. <br /><br />The men's tournament also saw an unbalanced draw. The top seed got a cakewalk to the Final and I don't think anyone can dispute that. The bottom half of the draw was where all the drama and competition was. <br /><br />I have to say that all the snide remarks by members of the British press and former players who don't have a Grand Slam to their name against Andy Murray need to sit down. Murray, under coach Amélie Mauresmo, is once again one of the Big Four. If you saw any of his match vs Grigor Dimitrov you saw how well he can play and the subtle changes Mauresmo has made in his game. Murray next faced <b>Tomas Berdych</b> who badly wanted to add the scalp of another top player to his belt. Instead in another long match Murray fought off the physical and psychological pressure (thug tactics) Berdych was using. At one point I thought the two would come to blows. <br /><br />Oh yeah I forgot that Murray played Australian <b>Nick Kyrgios</b>, another future great according to the hype machine defeating him in three sets including one tiebreak set.<br /> <br />So meanwhile his opponent in the Final romped even defending champion <b>Stan Wawrinka</b>.<br /><br />I will admit that I didn't watch the match so I can only talk about what I read afterwards. The first reports I read made it seem as if Murray just wasn't up to the task of defeating the current World Number One. It was much later in the day that reports began to surface about how <b>Novak Djokovic</b> went back to his faking ways stumbling around and actually falling to the ground during the third set. As the cries of "Fakervic" began to swell in his post match pressure Djokovic said when asked about cramping said he never said he was cramping. What was he doing falling down and stumbling around then? The answer made no sense. <br /><br />Murray is known for grabbing various body parts when matches get tense and Djokovic's defenders cite this as proof that their man did nothing more than Murray does during a tight match. That this went over like a lead balloon is proved by Djokovic talking about wanting a chance to sit down and talk with Murray about any "issues" between them in the wake of the Men's Final. The article posted on "<a href="http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/02/friendly-four-djokovic-looking-repair-relations-murray-keep-close-federer-nadal/53929/#.VNFMqkK5LUk"> Tennis.com </a> got very little play in tennis media outlets. <br /><br />If you notice Djokovic does not practice his acting against two players and two players only. He desperately wants their respect and recognition I guess and Murray is simply one of the "others". Before the start of the Open John McEnroe was asking why Djokovic is not loved like <b>Rafael Nadal</b> and <b>Roger Federer</b>. He has only to look at this match to understand why.<br /><br /><b>End Notes - Australian Open Edition</b><br /><br />Overall I thought that the rise of the the New Jacks is still a ways off. The hype machines for various players worked overtime to make sure their particular player was part of the second week conversation and the draw somewhat aided them in that wish. In the end though tennis stars are made on the court and looking at it that way the New Jacks are still not ready for Prime Time. The technical skills the established players have, the mental fortitude, the willingness to play to the point of fatigue and then play some more is just not there in the younger generation. When Dimitrov threw his racquet in his match against Murray he announced that the match was over, that he had no more ideas, nothing more to offer. He had left his all on the court and the match wasn't even done yet. Bouchard's inability to even do the gracioius thing at the net after her loss to Sharapova is yet another example of not being ready. During Serena's on court speech after winning the Final Sharapova was at least able to look in her direction even though you know she was raging inside. A professional knows how to deal with victory as well as defeat. We've been fortunate to be tennis fans during the last few years. After 2016 I don't know what we'll be subjected to. Hype does not make for great tennis.<br /><br /><b>Serena Returns to Indian Wells</b><br /><br />This is big news. In a first person narrative in <a href="http://time.com/3694659/serena-williams-indian-wells/"> Time Magazine </a> Serena explains her decision.<br /><br /><blockquote>When I arrived at Indian Wells in 2001, I was looking to take another title. I was ready. But however ready I was, nothing could have prepared me for what happened in the final. As I walked out onto the court, the crowd immediately started jeering and booing. In my last match, the semifinals, I was set to play my sister, but Venus had tendinitis and had to pull out. Apparently that angered many fans. Throughout my whole career, integrity has been everything to me. It is also everything and more to Venus. The false allegations that our matches were fixed hurt, cut and ripped into us deeply. The under­current of racism was painful, confusing and unfair. In a game I loved with all my heart, at one of my most cherished tournaments, I suddenly felt unwelcome, alone and afraid.<br /><br />For all their practice, preparation and confidence, even the best competitors in every sport have a voice of doubt inside them that says they are not good enough. I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger.</blockquote><br />Congratulations to Larry Ellison who made it clear that one of his goals was to bring the Williams family back to Indian Wells when he bought the tournament. It almost happened last year but this year it looks as if it will really happen. There are some Serena fans who will be disappointed at her decision and I understand where they're coming from. The boycott has served its purpose and maybe it is time for this chapter of tennis history, a very painful one, to be closed. The pressure is now on the people of that part of California. Let's hope they handle themselves better than they did fourteen years ago.<br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-rear-view-mirror-ausopen-2015.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-5098440245315092870Tue, 27 Jan 2015 16:11:00 +00002015-01-27T11:12:22.959-05:002015 Australian Open Day 9The Day That Wasby Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/32036b30-1e91-457a-8b35-0ed6496b0295_zps5ab5ace6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/32036b30-1e91-457a-8b35-0ed6496b0295_zps5ab5ace6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 32036b30-1e91-457a-8b35-0ed6496b0295_zps5ab5ace6.jpg"/></a><br />Photo via Andy Brownbill/AP<br /><br />Face it. The only match the WTA wanted hyped was the "showdown" between its new blonde <b>Eugenie Bouchard</b> and its "old" blonde <b>Maria Sharapova</b>. It's minions, otherwise known as tennis on air personalities on ESPN2, were talking crazy during every Bouchard match leading up to this one. At one point Chris Evert said that all of the tour was copying Bouchard and hitting from the baseline thus eliminating, oh, twenty odd years of women's tennis history with a comment that she knew was blatantly untrue. Fortunately I have the option of watching coverage on ESPN3, the online version of the network where they wisely hired commentators who usually work on TennisTV and where comments were made after a point was played and there was no wild hyperbole.<br /><br />Everything was in place for a "showdown". Bouchard had swept through her early rounds like a hot knife through butter and amazingly some thought that she was going to sweep past Sharapova in the same way. I kept wondering what Bouchard these people had been watching. Beating up on <b>Zarina Diyas</b> is not playing a Grand Slam champion, like the champion or not.<br /><br />The only hot knife through butter was Maria Sharapova who let everyone know she was not ready to roll over and play dead for the WTA's hype machine. I don't know what they were saying over on the broadcast TV side of the house but the only enthusiastic crowd support for Bouchard coming into the match was bought and paid for. Yesterday's match saw that many of the corporate folks decided to skip the match and those that were there were decidely meh about the whole thing.<br /><br />I can't say it enough. Bouchard has no game to hurt the big dogs. She stands on the baseline and bludgeons the ball back with about as much finesse as a WWE performer would show. Constructing a point consists of battering the ball harder and harder. She did try to move Sharapova around but guess what? When you're moving her around and she's still teeing off on your shots it's time for Plan B. Oh wait, there was no Plan B. <br /><br />I really can't believe that Bouchard was arrogant enough to come into a major without a coach. Does she really think she knows all there is to know and that she has nothing left to learn? Look to the top players. They've worked and worked on their games, and kept people around them who support them, make sure they're rested and mentally prepared for the chance of winning seven matches in a major. Knowing enough to know you can't do it on your own is the first step to becoming a champion. Bouchard has yet to take that first step.<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/46e6d42c-dcaf-4df5-afcd-e51d8e1b00e1_zpsbdaa3355.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/46e6d42c-dcaf-4df5-afcd-e51d8e1b00e1_zpsbdaa3355.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 46e6d42c-dcaf-4df5-afcd-e51d8e1b00e1_zpsbdaa3355.jpg"/></a><br />Photo via Ryan Pierse/Getty Images AsiaPac<br /><br />The match I was looking forward to was <b>Ekaterina Makarova</b> vs <b>Simona Halep</b>. Halep came in as the number three seed and Makarova a newly minted top ten player. What happened next was a bit of a surprise.<br /><br />I'll be honest. I've pretty much ignored Makarova and haven't seen much of her since she made her run to the top ten.<br />I have been watching Halep and to say I was surprised at some of her moves at the end of last season is putting it mildly. Firing Wim Fissette after his public statements that she should throw a match was a feather in her cap. She's not a win at all costs type of woman and firing a darling of the tennis world took guts. What happened next though showed either naïveté on her part or strong arming by the Romanian tennis federation. Halep announced that her next coach would be someone who understood her, someone who understood the Romanian approach to life in general and tennis in particular. Some said that what she needed was a coach who has been where she wants to go not a person used to coaching at the ITF level. That she made a mistake in taking the path she did re her coaching situation was glaringly obvious during her match. ESPN3 showed her coaches just before the match started and they looked terrified. If your coaches are terrified how are you going to feel? Halep admitted this during her post match presser.<br /><br />Reading that <a href="http://bit.ly/1BuFqK9"> transcript </a> is revealing to say the least. (All emphasis mine).<br /><br /><blockquote>Q. Do you feel stress before the match or does it hit you when you get out there?<br /><br />SIMONA HALEP: Like I said, in the practicing I hit well. <b>But, yeah, when I started to play, I just felt a little bit my body, it's stressed, my mind maybe. Yeah, I felt only during the match.</b> Not before or yesterday, but just today.<br /><br />Q. Do you have strategies to cope with that?<br /><br />SIMONA HALEP: Yeah, like I said, I have experience. I had experience to play quarterfinals in Grand Slams. But sometimes you cannot manage the situation. I tried. I did everything I could this match. But, you know,<b> just mentally because during the points maybe I didn't fight very well today. I just lost my concentrate to win the points, to win the match. So I didn't believe any more in second set, and that's maybe why I lost 6-0.</b></blockquote><br />As I said her coaching team looked terrified so where she should've gotten support she got nothing. This is also an indictment of on court coaching in my opinion not that it matters to the powers that be at the WTA. <br /><br />On the other side of the net Makarova played the way you expect a top ten player to play. She had a game plan and it worked since her opponent allowed it to. It's going to be interesting to see what Halep does going forward. She knows that fans and objective journalists see her as part of the future of tennis and if you read the entire transcript you'll notice there's a lot of "I" in there. Yes you are talented. Yes you have the potential, after 2016, to become the top player in the WTA. But there are lots of players who have the same potential laboring away in ITF events. <br />If she keeps the same people around her she's in for a crash landing. She needs someone who has been there, someone who will make her listen to them and give her the tools to deal with her nerves. If not, she'll be looking up at where she should've been.<br /><br /><b>End Notes</b><br /><br />Continuing on coaching or lack thereof Martina Navratilova is very upset with her new charge <b>Agniezska Radwanska</b>. All of the quotes come from @stephintheUS who documented all of this for us fans.<br /><br /><blockquote>Martina said Aga didn’t do anything in their game plan. She hit to Venus’ backhand too much. Didn’t hit as hard as she was in practice.<br /><br />Martina said Aga never looked at the player box in that third set. “I could have just watched it from a hotel room for all the good I did"<br /></blockquote><br />It seems that Aga's regular coach Tomasz Wiktorowski lobbied hard for Martina because she is strong enough to deal with Aga. That last tidbit comes from @LazyGoldfish. So quiet little Aga is a diva off court huh? Doesn't want to listen huh? It's almost unprecedented for a coach to speak as bluntly as Martine did and I'm sure she did it on purpose. Ivan Lendl left Andy Murray in the lurch so to speak but he taught Murray to listen to his coaches. It seems that's the lesson some of these new kids on the court need to learn and fast.<br /><br /><b>Pink</b><br /><br />Pink. I hate pink. Said in the tone of voice used by Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when confronted with the moving floor that turned out to be his phobia. <br /><br />Wear pink in your private life to your heart's content. Do not, I repeat, do not wear it on the court. <br /><br />And that is all I am going to say about that match from yesterday.<br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/01/by-savannah-photo-via-andy-brownbillap.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-4343265966645869534Fri, 23 Jan 2015 00:17:00 +00002015-01-22T19:17:10.507-05:002015 Australian OpenSo What About The Americans In Melbourne?by Savannah<br /><br />I'm sure everyone expected <b>Coco Vandeweghe</b> to take out <b>Samantha Stosur</b>. Or <b>Madison Keys</b> to drop a set to <b>Casey Dellacqua</b> and storm back to win the match like a boss. What about <b>John Isner</b>? <b>Donald Young</b> made it to the second round to face <b>Milos Raonic</b>. <b>Bethanie Mattek-Sands</b> is playing <b>Simona Halep</b> in the third round. And of course there's <b>Tim Smyczek</b> who showed he wasn't raised by wild animals.<br /><br />We're still in the first week of the Australian Open and we don't know who will actually make it to next week but the USTA must feel it can hold its collective head up a bit higher. Yes there have been losses but the fact that US players are in the conversation this deep in a tournament is kind of surprising. What will happen going forward? That's anyones guess.<br /><br /><b>Twirlgate</b><br /><br />There's an old, old saying about chickens coming home to roost. <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chickens+come+home+to+roost"> Dictionary.Com </a> says the idiom means "Consequences, although delayed, will happen" and came into common use in 1809 in the United States. <br /><br />This expression came to mind when out of nowhere some fans were upset about the new WTA "it" girl <b>Eugenie Bouchard</b> was asked to show off her kit by turning around in a circle to let everyone viewing see it. Let's forget that <b>Venus Williams</b> has been twirling after a win since she began her career. <b>Ana Ivanovic</b> added a twirl to her fist pump a long time ago. <b>Serena Williams</b> was asked the same night, by the same correspondent, to show of her spectacular Australian Open kit. So why is it only a big deal when it involves Bouchard?<br /><br />The WTA has only itself to blame. It has never marketed women's tennis. It has marketed players who look a certain way and made them the face of its product. It started with <b>Chris Evert</b>, moved on to <b>Anna Kournikova</b> and from her to <b>Maria Sharapova</b>. Now it's Bouchard. WTA players are marketed as "sexy", "beautiful", "feminine" not as athletes. If a player doesn't meet the standards set by the women I've mentioned they don't get any publicity.<br /><br />When you encourage the world outside of tennis to look at the value of your product based on a standard of beauty instead of their on court performance what are those inside tennis, who rely on the tours for access to players going to do? The WTA encourages its players to attend player parties complete with "red carpets" and photographers dressed to the nines and make up troweled on. This doesn't help give the players the respect they deserve, and make some more valuable not because of what they've done on court but because of their looks.<br /><br />Believe me I understand why some are upset about the women being asked to twirl while the men don't do anything remotely similar but their argument is with the WTA not the people who are just doing the job the WTA seems to want them to do and help to promote the players as objects of desire. As I write this the WTA hasn't made a statement about "twirlgate" and in reality they can't. They're active participants in the objectification of it's players and hence its overall product so how can they complain when it's done by the hired help? <br /><br />Until the WTA stops promoting some at the expense of all this will continue. No matter how fans feel that is the reality of the situation.<br /><br /><b>To Seed or Not to Seed: The Follow Up to the Massacre</b><br /><br />Of course the furor around twirlgate could be a gift to the WTA since it distracts from the disaster that is the women's draw in Melbourne. While the carnage did hit the top ten a lot of the damage was done to seeds 10 and lower.<br />I mean <b>Belinda Bencic</b> was a seeded player. <br /><br />Is it time to reduce the number of seeds from 32 to 16? The change from sixteen to thirty two seeds happened in 2001. Under the new 32 seed system no one ranked that high could play a person in that bracket until the third round. There have been fans advocating for a return to the sixteen seed system for awhile now but in the wake of the carnage in Melbourne their whispers are indeed getting louder.<br /><br />I'm not sure how I feel about it to be honest. Under the old system the players who lost, with some significant exceptions, would hardly be news. Because these players were seeded the results are big news for tennis.<br /><br />Somehow I don't think the majors want a return to the old system. The thirty two seed system protects the later rounds ensuring that the big names will be around for the quarter finals and going forward. <br /><br />As I said I don't know if a return to the old system is a good idea. But I think it should be part of the post Australian Open discussion.http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/01/so-what-about-americans-in-melbourne.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-1870794010230164531Mon, 19 Jan 2015 14:42:00 +00002015-01-19T09:42:42.890-05:002015 Australian Open Day 1The Massacreby Savannah<br /><br />Ana Ivanovic #5 seed. Gone.<br />Angelique Kerber #9 seed. Gone.<br />Lucie Safarova #16 seed. Gone.<br />Carla Suarez-Navarro #17 seed. Gone.<br />Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova #23 seed. Gone.<br />Svetlana Kuznetsova #27 seed. Gone.<br />Sabine Lisicki #28 seed. Gone.<br />Belinda Bencic #32 seed. Gone<br /><br />The bottom half of the women's draw has been decimated. Like them or not you expect to see the likes of Ivanovic, Kerber, Safarova, Suarez-Navarro and yes, even Lisicki, winning a round or two and in the case of Ivanovic and Kerber maybe making it to the second week. <br /><br />Day 3 play will feature matches between the following players:<br /><br /><b>Lucie Hradecka</b> and Polong Hercog <br />Lara Arruabarrena and <b>Yanina Wickmayer</b> <br /><b>Caroline Garcia</b> and Stefani Voegele <br /><b>Carina Witthoef</b> and Christina McHale <br /><b>Irina-Camellia Begu</b> and Katerina Siniakova <br /><b>Yaroslava Shvedoa</b> and Monica Puig<br />Klara Koukalova and <b>Julia Goërges</b><br /><b>Kristina Mladenovic</b> and Bethanie Mattek-Sands<br /><br />The highlighted players are the seed slayers.<br /><br />What does this mean? Bencic and sadly Kuznetsova are the only ones I wasn't surprised to see go out early. Some were saying that Kerber's back was bothering her. She seemed able to bend and move pretty easily. I have no idea what happened to Safarova. I didn't see her match. There were many who thought Ivanovic would go far. I didn't watch her match either. Instead I watched the despair of her fans on Twitter.<br /><br />I'm wondering how the WTA will spin this? The old "depth of women's tennis" meme will surely be dusted off and dragged out. The flip side of that coin is the weakness of women's tennis. Two top ten seeds. A total of seven top twenty seeds wiped out in one day from the bottom half of the draw. Everyone will be watching to see how the top half of the draw shakes out. With some of the most absurd match scheduling I've seen in a very long time the matches everyone wants to see are on outer courts. I don't know if the Australian Open is like the US Open where if you have a ticket to Ashe you can go anywhere else on the grounds. Day 2 is a Grounds Pass kind of day. The folks who paid good money for seats in Laver paid more for their Grounds Pass than they should have.<br /><br /><b>End Note</b><br /><br />Now we can officially say "Congratulations" to <b>Li Na</b> and her husband Jiang Shan on the pending birth of their first child in the summer. I guess they wanted her to make her announcement during the official opening ceremonies and that is why she danced around what was obvious to everyone at the live draw. Best wishes to the expectant parents.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-massacre.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-7400851400487005656Fri, 16 Jan 2015 20:54:00 +00002015-01-16T15:54:42.976-05:002015 Aus Open Men's Draw2015 Aus Open Women's draw2015 Australian OpenFINALLY!!!by Savannah<br /><br />The first Grand Slam of the year begins in Australia on Monday, January 19. In my part of the world it starts Sunday January 18. What does it mean that I'm looking forward to sleep deprivation? It means I'm a tennis fan. The warm up tournaments help ease you into living backwards but you can pick and choose what you watch of those. It's weird how we went from no tennis to so much tennis you didn't know who to watch play where. <br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/5bda1496-70de-4d43-9012-c2427397ae0c_zps746adfd9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 5bda1496-70de-4d43-9012-c2427397ae0c_zps746adfd9.jpg" border="0" src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2015%20Misc%20Blog%20Pics/5bda1496-70de-4d43-9012-c2427397ae0c_zps746adfd9.jpg" /></a><br />via sportinglife.com<br /><br />I'm not sure why Auckland isn't a combined event but it was great seeing the fans turn out in droves for women's tennis. I haven't watched much of the mens tournament there because Sydney was taking place. The biggest problem with Auckland is it's lack of Hawkeye. The organizers say it's too expensive at $100,000 per court. I mean it's nice watching an exho with no Hawkeye but the speed at which the modern game is played demands another set of "eyes" so to speak in case there is a dispute. <br /><br />The women's final at Sydney was a match I wanted to see. It featured <b>Katerina Pliskova</b> vs <b>Petra Kvitova</b>. I'd been hearing a lot about Katerina on fan sites but most of it involved the usual objectivication of blonde women tennis players. She made the final though and I figured Petra wanted a win so the match would be interesting if not great.<br /><br />I came away wondering why this young woman Pliskova isn't getting a lot of publicity that didn't involve fanboy fantasies. She's tall but not gangly, fit, and plays an aggressive easy to watch game. If it wasn't for the fanboys I would have no idea she exists. She gave her countrywoman a run for her money losing the match in two tiebreak sets. Barring injury I think she's going to be a star on the court. <br /><br />Then there was <b>Venus Williams</b> performance in the WTA tournament in Auckland. I was glad to see David Witt working with her and she went out of her way to make sure she praised him and her team for putting up with her through thick and thin. It was great to see her play the way she used to.<br /><br />But starting Sunday(Monday) everyone will have to play their way through a Grand Slam draw. I'm sure everyone has seen it by now but here it is again.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Vera Zvonareva (RUS) vs Unknown </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC Olivia Rogowska (AUS) vs Nicole Gibbs (USA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Jana Cepelova (SVK) vs Elina Svitolina (UKR) [26] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [24] vs Marina Erakovic (NZL) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) vs Saisai Zheng (CHN) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN) vs Unknown </div><div style="text-align: center;">Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [15] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) [11] vs Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) vs Heather Watson (GBR) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Romina Oprandi (SUI) vs Unknown </div><div style="text-align: center;">Shuai Zhang (CHN) vs Alizé Cornet (FRA) [19] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">B.Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) [25] vs Timea Babos (HUN)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Jie Zheng (CHN) vs WC Kai-Chen Chang (TPE) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Sloane Stephens (USA) vs Victoria Azarenka (BLR) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Taylor Townsend (USA) vs Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [8] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Petra Kvitova (CZE) [4] vs Unknown </div><div style="text-align: center;">Donna Vekic (CRO) vs Mona Barthel (GER) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) vs Madison Keys (USA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) vs Casey Dellacqua (AUS) [29] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Samantha Stosur (AUS) [20] vs Monica Niculescu (ROU) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Francesca Schiavone (ITA) vs Coco Vandeweghe (USA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC Irina Falconi (USA) vs Kaia Kanepi (EST) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Madison Brengle (USA) vs Andrea Petkovic (GER) [13] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [12] vs Camila Giorgi (ITA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Tereza Smitkova (CZE) vs Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Lauren Davis (USA) vs Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) </div><div style="text-align: center;">M. Toro-Flor (ESP) vs Venus Williams (USA) [18] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Varvara Lepchenko (USA) [30] vs Vitalia Diatchenko (RUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Shelby Rogers (USA) vs Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) vs Johanna Larsson (SWE) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Kurumi Nara (JPN) vs Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [6]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [5] vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Polona Hercog (SLO) vs Qiang Wang (CHN) </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC Storm Sanders (AUS) vs Klara Koukalova (CZE) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Julia Goerges (GER) vs Belinda Bencic (SUI) [32] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [22] vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Alison Riske (USA) vs WC Oceane Dodin (FRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Roberta Vinci (ITA) vs Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) </div><div style="text-align: center;">An-Sophie Mestach (BEL) vs Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [10] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sara Errani (ITA) [14] vs Grace Min (USA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">S.Soler-Espinosa (ESP) vs Annika Beck (GER) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Lara Arruabarrena (ESP) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) vs A.Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) [23] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sabine Lisicki (GER) [28] vs Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC Ying-Ying Duan (CHN) vs Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) vs Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Karin Knapp (ITA) vs Simona Halep (ROU) [3]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [7] vs Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Kiki Bertens (NED) vs WC Daria Gavrilova (AUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Stefanie Voegele (SUI) vs Pauline Parmentier (FRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Caroline Garcia (FRA) vs Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) [27] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">C.Suarez Navarro (ESP) [17] vs Carina Witthoeft (GER) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Christina McHale (USA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Elena Vesnina (RUS) vs Katerina Siniakova (CZE) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) vs Angelique Kerber (GER) [9] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lucie Safarova (CZE) [16] vs Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Monica Puig (PUR) vs WC Arina Rodionova (AUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Ana Konjuh (CRO) vs Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Shuai Peng (CHN) [21] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Zarina Diyas (KAZ) [31] vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Anna Schmiedlova (SVK) vs Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Sorana Cirstea (ROU) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Maria Sharapova (RUS) [2]</div><br />Are there cakewalks? Damn straight there are cakewalks. <b>Maria Sharapova</b> has to feel good about her section. The biggest threat appears to be <b>Lucia Safarova</b> who played well in the run up events she participated in. <b>Ana Konjuh</b> who had a lot of buzz around her played horribly in her warm up. But that was then and this is now. Of course anything can happen but I think the match up people want, <b>Eugenie Bouchard</b> vs Maria Sharapova, is a good possibility. There is always a chance that the <b>Svetlana Kuznetsova</b> who knows how to play tennis shows up and upsets the apple cart. I said there's a chance of that happening not that it will happen.<br /><br />The match I'm looking forward to is <b>Sloane Stephens</b> vs <b>Victoria Azarenka</b>. Vika, who has been open about the year she went through on and off the court in 2014 is going to be looking for a win. Sloane fancies herself a slayer of top players and usually shows up for those matches. The other intriguing match in that section is <b>Taylor Townsend</b> vs <b>Caroline Wozniacki</b>. Some feel this will be Wozniacki's chance to win a Slam. She's really playing a game that's exciting to watch right now knowing how to be aggressive and when. I liked what I saw of Taylor in Australia but when the pressure went up she went to pieces mentally. Wozniacki is going to bring the pressure.<br /><br /><b>Dominika Cibulkova</b> has not been playing well lately and <b>Heather Watson</b>, who last year couldn't think her way out of a paper bag let alone construct a point is playing a final this evening. The other player I have my eye on on <b>Madison Keys</b>. I still think she has the most potential of the young American women but she has to get over a pattern she's developing of getting a good win and then being unprepared for her next match.<br /><br /><b>Katerina Pliskova </b>has another one of those nice little sections hidden in the draw. She starts out with a Qualifier and is seeded to face <b>Ekaterina Makarova</b>, a newly minted top ten player. She's in the top half of the bottom of the draw and if she gets through her section she could face <b>Ana Ivanovic</b> whose toughest challenge would be <b>Belinda Bencic</b> Also lurking in that part of the draw is <b>Simona Halep </b>who has another nice section.<br /><br />Will the top seeds make it through with no problems? Who knows? There's a reason they play the matches.<br /><br />Long time readers know I don't usually discuss the men's draw in depth and I'm not going to start now. The only thing I'll say is that anyone who blathers on about how tough a draw <b>Roger Federer</b> has deserves a swift kick.The biggest threat there is young <b>Borna Ćorić</b>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Go Soeda (JPN) vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">James Ward (GBR) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) [31] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">John Isner (USA) [19] vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Andreas Haider-Maurer (AUT) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) vs Gilles Muller (LUX) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) [13] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Feliciano Lopez (ESP) [12] vs WC Denis Kudla (USA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Blaz Rola (SLO) vs Adrian Mannarino (FRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs Jerzy Janowicz (POL) </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC Lucas Pouille (FRA) vs Gael Monfils (FRA) [17] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Julien Benneteau (FRA) [25] vs Benjamin Becker (GER) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) vs WC Ze Zhang (CHN) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Donald Young (USA) vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Milos Raonic (CAN) [8]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [4] vs Marsel Ilhan (TUR) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Pablo Andujar (ESP) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs Andrey Golubev (KAZ) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Pablo Cuevas (URU) [27] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) [21 vs Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Sam Querrey (USA) vs Vasek Pospisil (CAN) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs Peter Gojowczyk (GER) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Alejandro Gonzalez (COL) vs Fabio Fognini (ITA) [16] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">David Ferrer (ESP) [9] vs Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) vs Dusan Lajovic (SRB) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Marcel Granollers (ESP) vs Stephane Robert (FRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Robin Haase (NED) vs Gilles Simon (FRA) [18] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Santiago Giraldo (COL) [30] vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Steve Johnson (USA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Ivan Dodig (CRO) vs Joao Souza (BRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs Kei Nishikori (JPN) [5]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tomas Berdych (CZE) [7] vs Alejandro Falla (COL) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Jiri Vesely (CZE) vs Viktor Troicki (SRB) </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC John Millman (AUS) vs Leonardo Mayer (ARG) [26] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) [22] vs Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Tobias Kamke (GER) vs Bernard Tomic (AUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Sam Groth (AUS) vs Filip Krajinovic (SRB) </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT) [11] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kevin Anderson (RSA) [14] vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Ricardas Berankis (LTU) vs Igor Sijsling (NED) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Blaz Kavcic (SLO) vs WC James Duckworth (AUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Carlos Berlocq (ARG) vs Richard Gasquet (FRA) [24] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Lukas Rosol (CZE) [28] vs Kenny De Schepper (FRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) vs Dudi Sela (ISR) </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC Luke Saville (AUS) vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs Rafael Nadal (ESP) [3]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Andy Murray (GBR) [6] vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Marinko Matosevic (AUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">WC Jordan Thompson (AUS) vs Joao Sousa (POR) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Tatsuma Ito (JPN) vs Martin Klizan (SVK) [32] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">David Goffin (BEL) [20] vs Qualifier </div><div style="text-align: center;">Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) vs Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) vs Lukas Lacko (SVK) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Dustin Brown (GER) vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [10] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tommy Robredo (ESP) [15] vs Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Malek Jaziri (TUN) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Federico Delbonis (ARG) vs Nick Kyrgios (AUS) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Qualifier vs Ivo Karlovic (CRO) [23] </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jeremy Chardy (FRA) [29] vs Borna Coric (CRO) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs Denis Istomin (UZB) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Juan Monaco (ARG) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA) </div><div style="text-align: center;">Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) vs Roger Federer (SUI) [2]</div><br />The one player who loves the heat and has done well here is <b>Fernando Verdasco</b>. No one expects much of him and looking at his recent results it's understandable. Like Sveta in the women's draw if he shows up to play he could upset a lot of peoples hopes and dreams. Again, I'm not saying he will. I'm just saying that he could.<br /><br />If anyone sat through the interminable Live Draw yesterday I'm sure they got whiplash when Nick Bollettieri started talking up John Isner and his "super coach" Justin Gimelstob. I guess he's been working with Isner because he talked about him going to the net more and made it seem as if Isner is going to be a contender. Maybe I heard it wrong because by that time I was half asleep. Next time they should do what other Slams do and have the tropies, and the players, present and start the draw right away instead of going on and on about towns no one outside of Australia know anything about rallying behind top players. If they want to do that sort of thing do it before they go live. Trust me no one cares Tennis Australia.<br /><br /><b>Andy Murray </b>does not have an easy section. <b>Martin Klizan</b> is on a mission. <b>David Goffin</b> wants to play big at a major. And lurking in that part of the draw is everyone's favorite <b>Grigor Dimitrov</b> who's looking to show that the hype isn't hype.<br /><br />What do I think of the draws? It doesn't matter what I, or anyone thinks. It's the beginning of the year. Players are already taped and wrapped up. What matters is who plays well. Overall the draws are the best they can be at this time of the year. Some will always get cakewalks and some will always face a Murderer's Row. <br /><br />I'm excited!http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2015/01/finally.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-8215222133630985934Tue, 30 Dec 2014 00:09:00 +00002014-12-29T19:09:10.688-05:00Andy RoddickATP TennisHawkeyeI Don't Understandby Savannah<br /><br />I keep trying to post my last post of 2014 and everytime I try something catches my eye. Like this interview <b>Andy Roddick</b> did with <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/29/sport/tennis/roddick-tennis-hawk-eye-change/"> Ravi Ubha of CNN </a>. The headline was "Scrap Hawkeye or Change System". It was posted by a good tennis friend of mine on a fan site and when I saw the headline I rolled my eyes and started to skip it figuring it was blather but I said to myself "what the hell" and I read it. <br /><br />Here is Roddick's reasoning:<br /><br />Roddick says that there is " not enough interaction between players and umpires". <br />What kind of interaction" " If someone is really having a go at the umpire, you are not going to change the channel. It's an impossibility."<br />He doesn't end there.<br /><br /><blockquote>"We love our guys in the game now, Roger, Rafa and the way they carry themselves but there's some entertainment value on the guys that don't carry themselves so well," Roddick said, mentioning himself, retired two-time grand slam winner Marat Safin and the man dubbed 'Super Brat,' John McEnroe.<br />"Johnny Mac is out here all the time still going nuts and people love it," said Roddick, referring to the 55-year-old McEnroe competing in seniors' events.</blockquote><br />Roger Federer's objections to the system are cited by the author as proof that some in the sport don't like Hawkeye, going back two years to quote this statement by Federer:<br /><br />"What I like without Hawk-Eye is just the players challenging the umpires more often."<br /><br />Somehow I don't think Federer wants to turn tennis into the WWE.<br /><br />Roddick allows that getting rid of Hawkeye may be too extreme an idea so he says the number of challenges should be reduced to one per match.<br /><br />There is also this.<br /><br /><blockquote>Another change in the game Roddick would make is keeping play going when there are lets.<br />For Roddick, the entertainment factor is indeed key.<br />"We are fooling ourselves if we don't think sports are entertainment," he said.</blockquote><br />It's always amazing to me that you see this sort of thing coming from American players. Retired American players. I guess if you can't play up to the level of the top men why not enable a side show to take place? Roddick says he doesn't want tennis players coming out in feather boas and sequins but isn't that what he's advocating? Somehow I don't think too many fans want to see this kind of thing come back. I know I don't.http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/12/i-dont-understand.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-2856331375194766560Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:20:00 +00002014-12-23T10:20:07.964-05:00WTA TennisA Facepalm to End The Yearby Savannah<br /><br />I thought that the silly season was just about over. Live tennis, real tennis, not some ginned up exhibition that pays players a ton of money to show up, but real live tennis will be starting soon.<br /><br />Silly me. I should've known better. The WTA, in its never ending mission to dumb down women's tennis will be introducing an app during Brisbane that will do all the things that make match play exciting. What are those things you ask? Oh, little things like knowing where your opponent is standing. Is she standing way behind the baseline, on the baseline, or just inside the baseline to receive your serve and returns? Simply looking across the net will tell you that.<br /><br />Is she hitting to your forehand or backhand? Is she taking advantage of your slowness on court to try and make you move? If you know the success of your game relies on you dominating the center of the court and you're constantly trying to catch up to balls that are catching the line you're in trouble.<br /><br />The WTA has a solution for you. It's introducing an app that will do your thinking for you. <a href="http://bit.ly/1zf5JQT"> Paul Malone </a> a sportswriter for the Courier Mail of Brisbane posted an article detailing just how wonderful and groundbreaking this app is. Forget that the app will only be used by the WTA. Forget that it will not be used during Slams even though some muckety muck associated with Tennis Australia feels it will be allowed to be used during Slams. <br /><br />And you know ATP players are somewhere laughing their asses off. <br /><br />The women's game is already disrepected by the men and I think this will make it worse. The whole point of tennis is to figure out what your opponent is doing and adapt to it. The WTA, with oncourt coaching, has already dumbed down the women's game encouraging the spectacle of a coach swanning down out of the stands to hold his charges hand and clear her muddled mind. Now the coaches will have this app so that the poor dear can see how far back her opponent is standing, see where her opponent is hitting returns to her and tell her what to do. I wonder what the player has been doing out there all this time? Filing her nails while balls whiz past her because the heat of competition is too much for her?<br /><br />There are already people, me among them, who see a drop in the quality of women's tennis coming. It's coming in mens tennis too but they're not doing something as asinine as this. This is only going to hasten the decline and perhaps make it impossible for the sport, as played by women, to return to its glory days. <b>Serena Williams</b> dominates women's tennis because she's always thinking out there. She can change strategy during a match and mentally wears her opponents down. Thinking on court can be done but apparently the WTA thinks its special snowflakes need an app to show them what should be done routinely during match play.<br /><br />There are many passionate followers of women's tennis out there. I hope that they condemn this further dumbing down of women's tennis. Intelligence will no longer be the deciding factor for a female player. Her coach will do everything for her. That way she can concentrate on magazine covers, fashion spreads and selfies. Oh, and staged photoshoots with boyfriends. <br /><br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-facepalm-to-end-year.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-8043536072320696390Thu, 11 Dec 2014 20:38:00 +00002014-12-11T15:38:51.545-05:00Eugenie BouchardJohn IsnerLindsay DavenportMadison KeysRichard GasquetWaiting For The Other Shoe To Dropby Savannah<br /><br />So this happened.<br /><br /><blockquote>Matt Cronin ‏@TennisReporters <br /><br />Breaking: Madison Keys is now being coached by Lindsay Davenport who will work during off season but @LDavenport76 wont be full time in 2015</blockquote><br /><blockquote>Update from Tom Perrotta on twitter: <br /><br />Madison Keys now employs Lindsay Davenport & Wim Fissette (Clijsters/Halep). Shared coaching. Wim in Europe, Lindsay in U.S., both at Slams.<br /></blockquote><br /><blockquote>Update 2:<br /><br />Ben Rothenberg ‏@BenRothenberg <br /><br />Change of plans for Madison Keys: she will be coached by Lindsay Davenport and Lindsay's husband Jon Leach, not by Lindsay + Wim Fissette.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>@TennisReporters<br /><br />Davenport had foot surgery so Jon hitting with Keys, likes him lot, decides 2 stay with Jon. Will eventually higher members 4 small tournies.<br /></blockquote><br /><blockquote>@TennisReporters<br /><br />Davenport had foot surgery so Jon hitting with Keys, likes him lot, decides 2 stay with Jon. Will eventually higher members 4 small tournies.<br /></blockquote><br /><blockquote>Lindsay Davenport ‏@LDavenport76 <br /><br />@TennisReporters @BenRothenberg well my hubby still has a day job, so we say helping his wife out and keeping me & @Madison_Keys in line</blockquote><br />I hope that one about she likes hitting with Lindsay's husband so now he's her part time coach isn't true. That is not how you choose a coach, not when you're poised for the big time like Madison is.<br /><br />I don't think I mentioned in yesterday's post that <b>Eugenie Bouchard</b> signed with IMG for modeling and tennis and will be working with <b>Serena Williams </b>agent <b>Jill Smoller</b> (the blonde woman you see in Serena's courtside box all the time) and Brad Slater.<br />That news broke after I started my year end post.<br /><br />There are a lot of people who think these developments mean Wim Fissette will end up coaching Bouchard and I tend to agree with them. I don't think anyone wants to coach Sloane let alone someone who is used to coaching at the highest levels of the sport. <br /><br />That said I think Bouchard has the same problem Sloane does. She's a "stah" and knows what is best for her. In other words she doesn't listen. Bouchard has so much wrong with her game she needs a firm hand. If Fissette ends up coaching her full time she's going to have to get over herself. <br /><br />Still I have to wonder if US players are being pressured to work with US based coaches. It's just something I thought of in passing.<br /><br />This is still a developing story. When they announce who will be coaching Bouchard I'll post here. <br /><br /><b>Richard Gasquet and The Davis Cup</b><br /><br />Sacre Bleu!!! The French have discovered they have a problem with their male players. Yesterday @markalannixon posted translations of an interview where it was revealed that <b>Yannick Noah</b>, who has been busy doing a lot of non tennis things has offered his services. Whether he's done this before I don't know. What he said pissed off Arnaud Clément though.<br /><br />Then there were the comments made by <b>Richard Gasquet</b>.<br /><br /><blockquote>"If Yannick wants to help in one way or another, he just needs to call the players. We all need people like him. He has a lot to add. I was with him from time to time in 2007. He goes to a lot of concerts and I see him still occasionally. It's nice. I know Gaël talked to him this year."<br /><br />Did his comments bother you?<br /><br />"Not at all. I adore Yannick. I understand what he was trying to say even if the way said it was a bit delicate. He can help obviously. But we don't know how much he wants to invest or return to tennis. He can't criticise our preparation. We were at 100%. And Arnaud is still a good captain. I have no worries about him. We, the players, re-elected him just before the final, and that shows everything's fine."<br /><br />Some involved with tennis like Mouratoglou have offered their services to help French tennis ...<br /><br />"It would be nice if Mouratoglou coached some French players. It would be easier to take what he said. He lasted two months with Chardy. Let him prove himself by forming players. Serena isn't very complicated ..."</blockquote><br />So Noah, who said that the French have difficulties, is okay but Patrick isn't. That last comment about Serena is probably something he'll wish he had back.<br /><br />Here is the link to @markalannixon's translation. <a href="http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sj31h7"> Translation of Gasquet interview from L'Equipe </a><br /><br />It's the holiday season and everyone is stressed so I leave you with something to make you smile.<br /><b>John Isner</b> has hired Justin Gimelstob as his coach.<br />See I told you I'd make you laugh.<br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/12/waiting-for-other-shoe-to-drop.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-5939245352470075031Wed, 10 Dec 2014 07:52:00 +00002014-12-10T02:52:24.288-05:00Agniezska RadwanskaMaria SharapovaMarin CilicMichael ChangNishikori KeiPetra KvitovaSerena WilliamsSimona HalepThe Rear View Mirror - 2014by Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/82420c95-3229-4ca5-bc00-652086cc5560_zpsec6b85a5.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/82420c95-3229-4ca5-bc00-652086cc5560_zpsec6b85a5.jpg" border="0" alt="via AFP photo 82420c95-3229-4ca5-bc00-652086cc5560_zpsec6b85a5.jpg"/></a><br />via AFP<br /><br />Transition years. They mean many things to many people. For the most part they bring uncertainty. Who will win the Slams? For the ATP the next question is who will dominate the Master 1000 events? For the WTA it means who will find her way to the top of the heap and will she get there by winning a Slam or will she simply play enough tournaments to give her the points to be named top dog? The ATP came close to having a slamless number one and suddenly all the mockery and scorn for the WTA and it's roster of slamless number ones disappeared. It didn't happen but the double standard between women's tennis and men's tennis is as real as it ever was. More on that later.<br /><br /><b>Nishikori Kei</b> didn't win a Slam but he made the Final of the US Open. He beat the best clay courter ever on his best surface. No matter how he did it it was a win. He finished the year ranked fifth in the world. And no one doubts he's due to win a Slam, maybe in 2015. It's going to be interesting to see how he handles going from the hunter to the hunted, and whether his body will withstand the beating it will have to take to stay at the top of the men's game. And he's doing it with a celebrity coach or "super coach" as they're being called now, Michael Chang in his employ. Chang won the French and is an example of what a small man can do when he puts his mind to it. Of course the tennis of his time is not the tennis of today but he seems to be able to prepare his charge for today's physical game. The knock on Asian men in tennis has always been size but do the really big men of the West dominate the sport? Not really. <b>Marin Ćilić</b>, the US Open champion, is the exceptional big man who has won a Slam. The top male players are physical specimens but they're not "big men". <b>John Isner</b> is a big man. So is <b>Milos Raonic</b>. People want these men to do well but right now other than the hit and hit harder mindset they haven't shown themselves to be able to withstand the grind mentally.<br /><br />But I digress. I think Nishikori is the ATP Player of the Year, Slam or no Slam. I'm sure there are those who will pick someone else, someone who has won a Slam, or holds the top ranking, or is considered a demigod. This was a transition year. And the man who is poised to take advantage of this time is Nishikori. I say this not as a big fan of his, I'm not, but it is what it is. Now it's Nishikori's turn to prove that 2014 was not a fluke, that he's ready to step up.<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/ecdb5523-1b70-4b91-befe-ddbc6e90f496_zps51a35861.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/ecdb5523-1b70-4b91-befe-ddbc6e90f496_zps51a35861.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo ecdb5523-1b70-4b91-befe-ddbc6e90f496_zps51a35861.jpg"/></a><br />via Jen Pottheiser<br /><br />This was not an easy decision. I know it should have been but it wasn't. I started this end of year post talking about transition and chose a man who hasn't won a Slam as my ATP Player of the Year. In the end though <b>Serena Williams</b> proved beyond a doubt that she is the dominant female player of her generation. In a year where mental fatigue showed, in a year where there was just a whiff of drama in her camp, in a year where the pack was nipping at her heels she somehow found a way to hold on to the top spot via convincing wins at the US Open and the YEC. She survived a year where coaches openly told their charges to tank matches, with no consequences from the subservient tennis press or the WTA, so that she would not win a the year end tournament. There was the usual hating from the usual corners of the tennis world, dank dark places where her dominace is looked on with hatred and envy, who want anyone but Serena at the top of the women's game. But there she sits, and the haters have, for now, retreated to their caves and are plotting for 2015.<br /><br />Who else did I think of? Surprisingly <b>Caroline Wozniacki</b> who refocused on her game and gave players fits at the end of the year. <b>Simona Halep</b> didn't make the cut with me because she has not shown that she can mentally handle that Sunday afternoon match with all eyes on her. <b>Petra Kvitova</b>? It looks as if she's finally working on her fitness. Her inability to move is what's holding her back. <b>Maria Sharapova</b>? She's not able to bully players anymore and that could mean trouble for her in 2015. <b>Ana Ivanovic</b>? I can hear it now. "You picked Nishikori for ATP Player of the Year so why not Ana who really fought her way back into the top five?" I think her being able to do that without changing much if anything about her game points to the weakness and mental frailty of everyone ranked below Serena. "But Maria is tough!" I hear you saying. She knows who she can bully and who she can't. She's in Halep's head. Kvitova has to be interested in order to win those big matches. If you scream and holler at Ivanovic she cracks.<br /><br />This is why, despite the good year many in the top five had in the end I had to choose Serena Williams. Her team has her ready for just about every match. Yes she has bad days, we all do. But when it matters, when winning is the only option, a win it will be. Looking ahead I don't think she's going to play as much in 2015. She'll play the Slams, she'll play the big tournaments but right now her strategy has to be to stay healthy mentally and physically. It's not going to get any easier for her. She is vulnerable, but I feel that Serena will find a way to stay within the top five.<br /><br /><b>This and That</b><br /><br />It's been an interesting "off season" hasn't it? To get this out of the way I haven't watched one second of the IPTL event in Asia and didn't intend to. The 2015 season starts in a few weeks and it's going to be a month of living backwards - sleeping in the day and up at night. I'm not going to do that for exhibition matches. I didn't watch the event in London either. <br /><br />Not that I haven't been paying attention though. I've been Tweeting and keeping up with current events in tennis, which seems to mean keeping up with who is coaching who for 2015. So let's discuss that for a few minutes.<br /><br />The most recent news is that Martina Navratilova will be joining <b>Agniezska Radwanska's</b> team on a part time basis. Aga has seen the WTA pass her by and while she is a mere ten points behind Ivanovic in the rankings most of the wins she has are against up and comers who haven't figured her out yet. The top women don't have big problems with her anymore. Navratilova has made no secret of wanting to coach and taking on Aga is going to be an interesting experiment. I guess Aga wants to improve her aggression the way Ivanovic and Wozniacki have so she has a better chance of winning seven matches instead of five at a Slam. I don't expect to see much in Melbourne since they won't have had much time to work together. At least that's how it looks from the outside. <br /><br />Then there was the intriguing he is then he isn't situation with <b>Sloane Stephens </b>and Nick Saviano. Sloane was seen working at his academy and as quick as you can type 140 characters it was being reported that Saviano was her new coach. Then came the clarification: He's not her coach, not really. She's at his Academy but he's not officially her coach. Got that? This is after Thomas Högstedt was announced as her coach but he then signed on to "consult" with Simona Halep who said she must have a Romanian coach since only a Romanian can understand her. Capiche? So right now Sloane has no coach. This young woman had better remove her head from her posterior and realize the WTA has truly passed her by and that she's joined the ranks of American players who serve as cannon fodder for the real contenders on the tour. It makes no sense to be uncoachable when you haven't won a damn thing.<br /><br />The other coachless wonder is <b>Eugenie Bouchard</b>, the latest WTA special snowflake. I really think the WTA has created a monster with Ms Bouchard. At the YEC she was heard asking then coach Saviano why they played the event. At the YEC! You're one of the best, one of the top eight women in the world, and you're not honored to make the cut, you don't get that you're in elite company, that everyone ranked below you wants to be where you are? As if that wasn't bad enough she posted a Tweet jokingly proclaiming a ball machine as her new coach. Talk about disrespectful.<br />Yes she's done more than Sloane but at least Sloane doesn't disrespect the sport that is allowing her to live a life many dream of. Oh wait, Bouchard already lived that life. Maybe that's it. It's not a big deal for her to be treated differently from others so the things that get other players excited don't move her. I wonder if Tennis Canada wants her to choose a Canadian? I wonder if some US based coach thinks he can work with her. As I write this she and the machine are still working together.<br /><br />Wim Fissette, who famously encouraged Simona Halep to throw a match to stop Serena Williams from making the final of the YEC, advice that to her credit she ignored, will now be working with <b>Madison Keys </b>when she plays out of the United States. Lindsay Davenport will work with her in the US. Madison Keys is, in my opinion, the best hope for the United States as long as she stays out of the clutches of the USTA and it's coaches. She has the killer instinct, she just doesn't know how to harness and control it. I'm glad she's made moves to improve her game.<br /><br />On December 9 the WTA announced a deal with London based Perform Group worth $525 million dollars. <a href= "http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/sports/tennis/wta-announces-media-deal-worth-525-million.html"> To quote from the press release </a> <blockquote>Perform is paying the rights fees and guaranteeing money to produce all 2,000 main-draw singles matches and 300 semifinals and finals of doubles matches each year. Networks that choose to produce tournaments on their own will receive subsidies from the venture, which is called WTA Media.</blockquote>There's no word yet on what this will cost fans to get access to the streams. It's a good move by the WTA. This will make sure women's tennis gets more exposure. I hope it will mean higher quality tennis as well. If we return to the style of tennis that was the norm before the modern era I don't know that many people who are not already fans will be motivated to watch. No one wants to see what one tennishead called "strike and push" tennis anymore.<br /><br />On the men's side there hasn't been much change. The former players who became coaches this year seem to be keeping their jobs for now so no drama there.<br /><br />Andy Roddick, the last American man to win a Slam back in the dark ages of 2003, was made an honorary member of Wimbledon. That's your year end proof that the old boy tennis network is alive and well.<br /><br />Meanwhile Pete Sampras lobbed a few over the wall. With Isner the highest ranked US man at nineteen Sampras said the outlook for US tennis on the mens side is bleak. He was <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tennis-sampras-rules-immediate-american-resurgence-154702769--ten.html"> quoted </a> as saying the following:<br /><br /><blockquote>"I don't see anyone, I don't really know anyone that even people are talking about to break through even into the top 10.<br /><br />"We're not into the 90s anymore. It will be quite a while to see American tennis back to where it was," said the 14-times major winner who is in India to take part in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).<br /><br />"I think the game has got so international, so global that a lot of kids are playing tennis all around the world. So it makes it tougher for the Americans.<br /><br />"Maybe the world is more hungry and for whatever reasons, we are not producing juniors, young pros with potential. It's just a phase and hopefully doesn't last that long."</blockquote><br />No one talks that bluntly about the state of mens tennis in the United States. I'm sure a lot of folks got the vapors after reading that.<br /><br />Speaking of talking bluntly and the old boy tennis network Romanian player <b>Marius Copil</b> told the following story about Bernard Tomic to a Romanian reporter. It shows why some juniors are legends in their own minds and have a difficult transition to the Main Tour. The translation I'm using is from an article posted by <a href=http://www.tennisworldusa.org/Marius-Copil-I-received-death-threats-to-lose-a-set-and-I-don%60t-like-Sharapova%60s-body-articolo21412.html.1"> Filippo Scala </a> and appears on the TennisWorldusa.org site.<br /><br /><blockquote>Q. Some players from your generation like Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov and Bernard Tomic have already achieved great results. What do you think made the difference compared to you?<br /><br />A. Let me make you an example. In 2009, I played a Semifinal in Cremona, Italy, against Tomic, who was ranked No. 170 at that time. I was somewhere around No. 200. Do you know how many people he had with him? 6! I only had a physical coach. This is the difference. <b>Tomic told me that he received a credit card from the Australian Tennis Federation and had already spent $ 1.5 million. It was a card with unlimited amount!</b> On top of that, he had signed a contract with Nike since he was a junior. Had he been ranked between 50 and 100, he would have received € 300.000 a year, which would have doubled in case he had broken into the top-50. On the contrary, I receive $15.000 from my sponsor and I have to give 20% to my manager. This, I think, says it all.</blockquote><br />Of course in the world of tennis his saying somewhere else in the interview that Sharapova isn't his type got more attention than the statement about Tomic and Tennis Australia.<br /><br />Oh yeah about <b>Grigor Dimitrov</b>. I still don't see it. With <b>Borna Ćorić </b>and <b>Alexander Zverev</b> I see it. Both will have to create public personas that will resonate with Western audiences though. They have a bit of star power that is sorely lacking among up and comers at the moment.<br /><br />That said I do see a period of mediocrity for both men's and women's tennis arriving sooner than people want to believe. I don't see superstars like we have now, men and women who transcend their sport. But who knows?<br /><br />Anyway Brisbane starts in a few weeks. I'd better rest up.http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-rear-view-mirror-2014.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-1425458808500847834Tue, 18 Nov 2014 06:01:00 +00002014-11-18T01:01:58.735-05:00Mirka FedererRoger FedererStan WawrinkaAnd All's Right With The World?by Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/e1441167-1e61-4000-a0b4-681ff1c15471_zps90511d6c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/e1441167-1e61-4000-a0b4-681ff1c15471_zps90511d6c.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo e1441167-1e61-4000-a0b4-681ff1c15471_zps90511d6c.jpg"/></a><br />via @RogerFederer<br /><br />The above picture was posted by whomever handles Roger Federer's Twitter account about 5:14p Eastern Time. The message? See we're fine. I even let Stan make bunny ears. Nothing to see here. Time to move on.<br /><br />If you want to understand the power of agents and why they get paid the big bucks this story is an ideal case study.<br />I've been on a mini rampage this year about the lack of real journalism when it comes to covering tennis. Instead of sportswriters who delve into the nuts and bolts of the sport we have people covering tennis who simply put their names on the press releases handed to them by certain players agents. Some agents are more powerful than others though and it's no stretch to say that Tony Godsick, Roger Federer's partner in their new PR firm that split off from IMG recently, is a super agent. He's so good, so well connected, and dare I say feared, that not one US tennis writer, or any member of the tennis writers guild or whatever they call themselves, has dared mumble a word about what happened during and after the semi final match between Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer. <br /><br />Instead I've seen the French accused of being shit stirrers (this was by a fan), outright denial by many fans, and insults directed at Wawrinka's manhood. <br /><br />I have to give credit where credit is due. John McEnroe broke the code of silence when he went live and admitted that something happened. That's a big deal. No one stateside has said "boo" since. And he's been attacked for doing what a reporter is supposed to do.<br /><br />If you still doubt the fix was in when is the last time a player didn't face the press gathered and waiting to ask questions and instead did a one on one with a single ATP reporter behind closed doors? Imaine an American quarterback after throwing five interceptions refusing to meet the press and talking to one hand selected reporter? A top soccer manager refusing to meet the press after a bad match? The screaming would never end. Only in tennis would this be greeted with total silence by the "journalists".<br /><br />What I have found disgusting is the rage of Federer fans against his wife. For some reason they've never liked her and now it seems that they blame her for tarnishing the image of the man they worship. Mirka Federer is not some "model" who does nothing but sit and look pretty in a players box. She managed Federer's career until he signed with IMG, in other words when it was too much for her to do on her own. That doesn't mean she's a saint. It means that she doesn't deserve to be insulted for her perceived WAG status. She is more than a WAG and if anything some of those who consider themselves reporters should be talking about the torrent of anger and hate directed at her. I'm not excusing what she's alleged to have done. I'm just saying that if there is anger and rage let's look at the why of that. Sometimes fans buy into a media image and take it to extremes. And agents get paid to help that dynamic along.<br /><br />The story is not going to go away. Davis Cup starts this Friday. We'll all have to wait and see what happens.http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/11/and-alls-right-with-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-1445559932012159659Sun, 16 Nov 2014 18:50:00 +00002014-11-17T09:25:16.678-05:002014 ATP WTFNovak DjokovicRoger FedererI Have A Question UPDATEDby Savannah<br /><br />Last night <b>Roger Federer</b> defeated <b>Stan Wawrinka</b> saving four match points. His fans were ecstatic and making up new words to incorporate his name. It's about 1:20 in the afternoon here on the east coast of the United States and fans who paid two hundred pounds or so to see the best of the ATP play a final have been told that it will take 48 hours for the LTA to decide if they get refunds. I hate to be the one to break it to them but since tennis is being played and they're watching they won't get refunds. That's how the USTA would play it.<br /><br />I watched that match last night. At no time did I see any indication that Federer was having any physical issues. Someone on Twitter said they saw he didn't bend his knees at some point in the match but if that happened I didn't see it. Neither did anyone else including the comms on TennisTV, considered the best in the business. <br /><br />The drama started when Federer didn't show up for his practice scheduled at 2:30p US time. A British journalist, Barry Flatman, of the Sunday Times tweeted the tennis equivalent of "Houston we have a problem" and said the final between Federer and Novak Djokovic would not take place. By the time he tweeted that the Tennis Twitter meltdown had begun. Rumors saying Nick Kyrgios would play Djokovic circulated. Some wondered why David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez weren't tapped to play. In the end Andy Murray, who was still in town to attend his friends wedding next week, was called on by Chris Kermode to play a pro set with Djokovic and then a doubles exho with John McEnroe against another team that included Tim Henman.<br /><br />Mr. Flatman just tweeted the following:<br /><br /><blockquote>Barry Flatman @Barry_FlatmanST · 5m 5 minutes ago<br />John McEnroe has now made it public: "Something went on in the locker room between Fed and Wawrinka & it extended long into the night."</blockquote><br />It was reported that Wawrinka said something to Mirka Federer during the match last night. Inquiring minds and all that.<br /><br />Since this is an ongoing story I'll stop here. I will ask this: If it was another player withdrawing from a year end final, and god forbid it was a WTA player, would tennis media be so sanguine?<br /><br />This morning there are two articles in the British press, both by respected sportswriters, on what exactly happened during that crucial patch in the third set. <br /><br />Here is what the Daily Mail's <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2837796/Stan-Wawrinka-argued-Roger-Federer-O2-Arena-hearing-wife-world-No-2.html"> Mike Dickson </a> reports happened:<br /><br /><blockquote>According to several eyewitnesses, a vociferous argument developed between the pair in the backstage area. Tour officials decided that the best thing was to push them alone into a private room that had been converted into a gym area, as there is no communal locker room at the arena.<br /><br />While the dispute is not believed to have become physical, a heated ten-minute row ensued in which both aired their grievances against the other.<br /><br />Among Wawrinka's complaints is that Federer's wife Mirka made audible comments from his supporters' box – which unlike in many stadiums are right at ground level – questioning in French whether he would have the guts to close the match out.<br /><br />In what had been an unusually feisty and high quality semi-final Wawrinka had four match points and served for the match at 5-4. According to French television, it picked him up saying 'She did the same thing at Wimbledon.' </blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/rogerfederer/11235838/Roger-Federers-wife-Mirka-sparked-row-by-heckling-Stan-Wawrinka.html"> Simon Briggs </a> of the more restrained and reliable Telegraph posted the following:<br /><br /><blockquote>Rumours of a bust-up between Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals grew more credible today as well-placed sources attested that the two men found themselves “thrashing out their differences” in the O2 Arena’s gym after Saturday’s semi-final.<br /><br />Furthermore, the common thread to all the accounts of a hot-tempered match comes back to the role of Federer’s wife Mirka. The Telegraph understands that Mirka’s intense and even provocative support for her husband - which peaked just before Wawrinka served for the match at 5-4 in the third set - caused Wawrinka to complain about her behaviour during the match.<br /><br />In those late stages, Mirka is understood to have directly challenged Wawrinka, accusing him of whingeing. Wawrinka wasted four match points - three of them in that critical service game at 5-4 - before Federer finally came through by a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6) scoreline.<br /><br />When he came into the interview room, some time after the match, Wawrinka was asked: “At some point late in the third you seemed upset with someone speaking before points. Can you explain what happened there?” His response was cryptic: “Not much. Nothing special. Tense match. It's never easy.”<br /><br />New information has now come to light about the aftermath of the match, when Federer and Wawrinka were encouraged by senior tennis figures to put the issue to bed at once. The two men conducted a heated 10-minute debate in the O2 Arena’s gym, in which Federer was understood to be the more assertive party.</blockquote><br />Randy Burgess, a long and valued commentator on this blog points out that there are a couple of people who mentioned Federer wincing and not bending his knees late in the match. I was watching the match and didn't see it. I consider the reports of it happening valid though and while I didn't see it happen believe those who say they did.<br /><br />Tennis journalists seem to have gone silent and when they do speak still act as though the incident and the fall out are rumors despite the two articles referenced above. I understand fans not wanting to believe it happened but journalists are supposed to be non biased and report the facts. <br /><br />If there are anymore updates to the story I'll create a separate post.<br /><br />Savannahhttp://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/11/i-have-question.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-4098687449024328076Sat, 15 Nov 2014 22:45:00 +00002014-11-15T17:45:55.619-05:00Amelie MauresmoAndy MurrayWhy All The Bother About Andy Murray?by Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/c01c097b-272e-4fef-8e8b-c05c6f9f79cc_zpsaec30ade.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/c01c097b-272e-4fef-8e8b-c05c6f9f79cc_zpsaec30ade.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo c01c097b-272e-4fef-8e8b-c05c6f9f79cc_zpsaec30ade.jpg"/></a><br />Photo via Getty Images<br /><br />It's been humming along in the background since June. The British tennis establishment was beside itself that Andy Murray chose Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach. They kept their upset to a dull roar until now though. After Mr. Murray was bagelled at the year ending WTF in London there was no holding them back and now such great tennis players as Greg Rusedski and multiple Grand Slam winner Tim Henman are going all in criticizing Murray's game and his choice of coach. <br /><br />First it was Rusedski criticizing Murray's second serve, something has always been a problem in his game. It's Mauresmo's fault.<br /><br />Now it's Henman <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2835700/Andy-Murray-s-game-lost-identity-says-former-British-No-1-Tim-Henman.html"> talking smack </a> about the Murray/Mauresmo collaboration.<br /><br /><blockquote>When you reflect on the match, for me his game had no identity,' said the 40-year-old BBC pundit. 'What was the plan out there? (...) 'It's about clarity of thought and that's when you've got to take a step back and look at the whole set-up, the whole team and his whole lifestyle and see whether that is working as well as it can. At the end of the day, he's the only one that can answer that.</blockquote><br />I should mention that <b>Marin Cilic</b>, 2014 US Open champion, played like shit but no one is raking his coach Goran Ivanisevic over the coals. He's one of the guys.<br /><br />What's amusing about all of this shade is that Murray is playing the way he's always played, poor second serve and passive aggressive rope-a-dope tennis. None of the critics are talking about what Murray did to get to the WTF's. He won three tournaments to make it and even with a week off he had to be exhausted. It's as if those wins didn't happen. Instead a bad loss means it's all the new coaches fault and she has to go.<br /><br />Who do I blame? Ivan Lendl. He's the one who blindsided Murray saying he'd had enough and wants to do other stuff that doesn't involve coaching Andy Murray. There was so much discussion about what effect that dumping would have on Murray right? Of course there wasn't. Instead the tennis "press" turned to who Murray would pick next. John McEnroe was mentioned frequently. Andre Agassi's name came up. So did Pete Sampras. Not one member of the LTA was mentioned if I recall correctly. It's as if it was assumed that the person would be someone from Lendl's generation so that the players from that time could try and bring back the tennis they played and make it work with modern racquets engineered for a different type of game, one they can't play and barely comprehend.<br /><br />Murray fooled them all. Not only did he go outside of the US, British, Australian tennis axis but he chose - please clutch your pearls - a woman! A French woman! Hold on Elizabeth it's the big one!<br /><br />With a coaching change the first thing that happens is that you have to unlearn the old system and learn the new one.<br />Player and coach have to learn what buttons to push and not to push, how far each one can go with the other. The tennis philosophy of the new coach has to fit in and adjust to the mindset of the player. This takes time.<br /><br />Rusedski's tome seemed to be him saying he wants to become Murray's coach. Henman's comments are supposed to be constructive criticism since he's described as a good friend of Murray. Not every British tennis fan is on the "get rid of that woman" train but as my mother used to say enpty barrels make the most noise.<br /><br />I don't know what the future holds for Murray and Mauresmo. I do know that he will go to his friends wedding and then probably head for Florida where he trains. Whatever Murray decides it will be his decision.<br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/11/why-all-bother-about-andy-murray.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-3594516497242797Sun, 19 Oct 2014 19:25:00 +00002014-10-19T14:25:33.367-05:00Shamil TarpishevWTA YECIt's Finals Time! The WTA YEC by Savannah<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ffwSpnlMPY/VEQOg4BTepI/AAAAAAAAAP4/IcGyWVs58rg/s1600/WTA%2BYEC%2B2014%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ffwSpnlMPY/VEQOg4BTepI/AAAAAAAAAP4/IcGyWVs58rg/s320/WTA%2BYEC%2B2014%2B.jpg" /></a></div>Posted by @MariaSharapova<br /><br />The WTA YEC begins it's first year in Singapore Monday October 20th. The top eight women will compete against each other in Round Robin format before beginning single elimination. The breakdown is as follows:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>RED GROUP </b>(Seed):</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Serena Williams (1)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Simona Halep (4)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Genie Bouchard (5)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ana Ivanovic (7)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>WHITE GROUP</b> (Seed):</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Maria Sharapova (2)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Petra Kvitova (3)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Agnieszka Radwanska (6)</div><div style="text-align: center;">Caroline Wozniacki (8)</div><br />On Monday <b>Serena Williams</b> will start things off playing <b>Ana Ivanovic</b> at 7:30p Singapore time (that's 7:30a Eastern US Time)<br />The second match will feature <b>Simona Halep</b> vs <b>Eugenie Bouchard</b>.<br /><br />Tuesday will feature the White Group with <b>Caroline Wozniacki</b> playing <b>Maria Sharapova</b> at 7:30pm followed by <b>Petra Kvitova</b> vs <b>Agnieszka Radwanska</b>.<br /><br />Why am I always surprised that Aga ends up at this event? She's not fooling too many people any more and has been trying to increase her aggressiveness but she still comes off as the weakest link in both groups. Each woman has had time to rest and no one is limping into the event this year. Yeah there were reports of this and that hurting but that was players trying to fulfill their tour commitments without flat out withdrawing and facing fines. <br /><br />Am I surrpised that Bouchard played well enough to make the cut? Nope. She was going to make the cut one way or another so after Serena, Maria and Petra she was the next shoo-in. The head to head between Bouchard and Halep is one apiece.<br /><br />To be honest I'm more curious about attendance than the tournament. There's a lot of pomp and circumstance going on around the event, enough to make me think the tennis isn't the feature event. Lot's of former players are going to be there. I'm assuming there's a large expat community in Singapore and that seems to be who they're appealing to. I've been looking to find reports on attendance at the recently completed China swing but haven't been successful. If someone has these figures please post a reply here.<br /><br />But back to the groups. The White Group could come down Sharapova vs Kvitova. Wozniacki can make life miserable for those two though I don't see her winning the group unless something serious happens. In the Red Group the battle will be between Halep, Ivanovic and Bouchard. Bouchard owns the H2H 2-0 (!) against Ivanovic. Ivanovic H2H vs Halep is 2-1 in Ivanovic's favor. <br /><br />Who do I think will play for the Championship? Many think it'll be Serena vs Pova but if Kvitova can hold her form I think she romps through the group. Keep in mind I don't do predictions well at all so make of that what you will.<br /><br /><b>The Tarpishev Incident</b><br /><br /><a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2233903-wtas-silence-disappointing-after-russian-tennis-head-slurs-the-williams-sisters"> So this happened </a> as reported by Merlisa Lawrence Corbett.<br /><br /><blockquote>Shamil Tarpischev, head of the RTF, appeared on the Evening Urgant, a late-night talk show broadcast nationally in Russia. Sitting next to retired WTA player Elena Dementieva, Tarpischev joked with the host about how difficult it is to defeat the Williams sisters.<br /><br />However, instead of acknowledging the Williams sisters' talents and skills, Tarpischev decided to degrade them. "The Williams brothers," he called them. <br /><br />The put-down didn't stop there. Ivan Urgant, the host of the show, instigated more thoughtless conversation. He continued (h/t TennisInfoBlog.com):<br /><br />Look at our athletes, elegant and beautiful. I have tremendous respect for them [Williams sisters], but once one of the sisters passed next to me, and I found myself in her shadow for about forty seconds. They are so physically powerful. Weren't you afraid to play against them?<br />Tarpischev and Dementieva smiled and listened to this foolishness. They ignored the fact that Russia's own Maria Sharapova is the tallest woman in the Top 100 and hits with as much power as anybody on tour.<br /><br />The "Williams brothers" remark and the tone Urgant used seemed to suggest that Serena and Venus were otherworldly, some strange creatures to be feared. </blockquote><br />The first reports of Tarpishev's remarks came, to my knowledge, on a fansite known more for flame wars than sober discussions of women's tennis, on October 7th. <br /><br />On October 17th the WTA announced that it was fining and suspending Tarpishev, who has been Russian tennis for many years and is head of the Russian Tennis Federation. It was also on October 17th that NY Times tennis reporter <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/sports/tennis/wta-suspends-russian-official-for-comment-about-williams-sisters.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=0"> Christopher Clarey </a> posted an article about the incident. In a tweet responding to myself and several others who commended him on his article he said he'd just found out about the incident. In other words something that fans had been aware of for ten days didn't get reported on by a major tennis writer until the WTA announced it's suspension and fine of Tarpishev. Many fans said non tennis media had been reporting on the comments for awhile. <br /><br />To summarize the head of the Russian Tennis Federation, who at one time had many women in the upper echelons of the sport, makes comments that are at the very least insensitive about two of the icons of the modern game and not one mainstream tennis "journalist" saw fit to report on the comments or express outrage. Some are saying that they were traveling to Singapore and weren't aware of the situation. I guess that "slow boat to China" is still in operation and has no modern communication facilities. Others seem to be doing their best to look the other way and pretend it didn't happen or that since the WTA has acted there is no need for them to say anything. <br /><br />If we tennisheads have learned anything from this it's that the men and women who consider themselves "journalists" are nothing more than an insular, self serving clique that only reports on what the tours and PR agencies want them to report on. Meanwhile fans have taken over the function of reporting that these entitled few claim they do. That is why this clique has worked so hard to make sure the rabble - read bloggers who are not under contract to some major sports or news organization - are not allowed anywhere near the hallowed media centers. I'll state here that I'm not interested in traveling all over the world but that's me. There are capable bloggers who love the sport and still do even when knowing some of the uglier aspects of it. And let's not forget there are regular fans who while they don't do formal blogs attend and report on majors and not majors on fan sites with no perspective other than that of a fan of the sport. They don't care what agents or the Tours say. They report what they see and that seems to threaten the "tennis press".<br /><br />Don't get me wrong. Fandom isn't colorblind and several excuses have been made for Tarpishev's remarks. Some say he's old. Some say Russia is still as insular as it has always been. Some say that Tarpishev was making a joke and that Russian humor is different from that of other cultures. Others were saying that Serena and Venus didn't seem to care about the comments so why should anyone else?<br /><br />Serena herself put an end to that train of thought with a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/19/us-tennis-women-wta-idUSKCN0I803B20141019"> statement she made yesterday </a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>"I thought they were very insensitive and extremely sexist as well as racist at the same time. I thought they were in a way bullying," Williams told reporters in Singapore on Sunday.<br /><br />"I've done the best that I can do, and that's all I can say. So I just wasn't very happy with his comments. I think a lot of people weren't happy as well.<br /><br />"But the WTA and the USTA (United States Tennis Association) did a wonderful job of making sure that -- in this day of age, 2014 for someone with his power, it's really unacceptable to make such bullying remarks."</blockquote><br />Then there's Marat Safin who said the following (Google Translation from the Russian)<br /><br /><blockquote>"I do not even know what to discuss here. This is complete nonsense, and on level ground. Adults and behave like children in a sandbox. I am sure that no one is mean to insult or offend. It would be better leaders WTA engaged so that from tennis to make any product, instead of discussing who said what to whom. Maybe Tarpishchev not understand? We understand that nothing he had in mind. Engaged in such nonsense respected association! Do not even want to discuss "- quoted Safina" Sport-Express ".</blockquote><br />I don't speak, read or understand Russian but for those who do here is the link to the <a href="http://www.sports.ru/tennis/1024362686.html"> original article </a> in that language.<br /><br />I should mention in passing that Elena Dementieva, the one who half way apologized for saying that Richard Williams fixed the matches for his daughters back in the day was present during the television interview. She did and said nothing but even now that she's retired would she dare go against a man as powerful in Russian tennis circles as Tarpishev is? And in the end what happened isn't about Dementieva and Serena. It's what the most powerful man in Russian tennis said about the two women who made his best players footnotes in the recent history of tennis. <br /><br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/10/its-finals-time-wta-yec.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-3354932118220014782Sat, 27 Sep 2014 18:43:00 +00002014-09-27T13:43:54.656-05:00Carla Suarez-NavarroEugenie BouchardKirsten FlipkensPetra KvitovaSabine LisickiWuhan 2014Xu ShilinLet's Talk About Wuhan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/Source-HongWuGettyImagesAsiaPac_zpsa384c844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/Source-HongWuGettyImagesAsiaPac_zpsa384c844.jpg" /></a></div>Source-HongWuGettyImagesAsiaPac<br /><br />For the WTA Wuhan, or more precisely the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, was set up to be the Jewel in the Crown of the refocused WTA Main Tour, the showcase to show Asia what women's tennis was all about. All of the big names were in attendance and it promised to be bigger than Beijing. <br /><br />When dealing with tennis as the good people of Hong Kong found out, what's promised is not always what's delivered.<br />Wuhan was something different though. The top seed, and one of the top up and comers were wiped out by gastric distress early in the event. Considering that the tennis stars were probably staying in a five star hotel and still got sick I wonder what is going on in the kitchens there? One person tweeted that when they went to China they lost seven pounds due to gastric issues. I hope that situation gets straightened out.<br /><br />The other top seeds seem to have been going through the motions. What happened could be called a massacre I suppose because after the early rounds only second tier seeds were left along with the number three seed <b>Petra Kvitova</b>. This is what you'd expect to happen to a tournament held the week before a Premier Mandatory. Do I think the WTA should adapt the ATP numeric systen to describe its tournaments? Yes. It's a real pain in the ass to find out the point levels assigned to a tournament. And don't forget there are a couple of different levels of Premier events. Yes there are Masters 500 and Masters 1000 on the ATP side but doesn't knowing the number of points the winner will get better than having to search the interwebs to find out the same information for a WTA event?<br /><br />Anyway anyone with eyes to see and follows tennis knew what the desired final matchup was going to be and lo and behold the rematch of the Wimbledon Final took place at about three in the morning Eastern time. Of course everyone was up to watch right? I know I wasn't. It was the end of a long week and unless you were being paid to stay up I'm guessing many in the States passed. Those on the west coast of the States would've had an easier time of it.<br /><br />I don't know how either woman played since I was asleep. I do know that Petra won in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. I read some analyses that said <b>Eugenie Bouchard </b>was trying to outhit Petra instead of making her move. Like <b>Maria Sharapova</b> Petra is not a great mover. I'm sure whoever has been working on making her tennis less ugly will be working on that as well. <br /><br />I did see some of the early round matches since they started about 11p in my time zone. The seats around the court were fairly well populated while the upper tiers were pretty empty. The fans showed up at the end of the work week but by then the matches were starting in the early morning hours and I'd end up falling asleep during the first set.<br />I feel that the WTA by setting such late for the US starting times wrote off the potential audience in the States given preference to Asia. If that's what she wants so be it.<br /><br />I'd call the tournament a moderate success based on what bits and pieces I saw. I think next year, when top players won't be forced to play a week before a Premier Mandatory tournament will be the test. By that time some Asian stars may have emerged and something will have been done to make the viewing easier for a non Asian audience.<br /><br />Next up is Beijing where the tradition of an empty stadium appears to be continuing. Nothing is worse than playing in an empty stadium and I saw parts of two matches played in one. Even the one featuring promising teenager <b>Xu Shilin</b> playing <b>Sabine Lisicki</b> was played in a mostly empty stadium. I swear only officials saw <b>Carla Suarez Navarro</b> play <b>Kirsten Flipkens</b>. <br /><br />I wish I could promise more detailed posts on these tournaments but with the time difference (yes again!) I don't think that's possible.<br /><br />So congratulations to Petra Kvitova for winning the inaugural Wuhan tournament. I wonder if she'll be back to defend her title next year?<br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/09/lets-talk-about-wuhan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-7400825864974788861Sun, 21 Sep 2014 20:37:00 +00002014-09-21T16:56:19.637-05:00WTAWhere Do We Go From Here? Part 2 The WTAby Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/af75e243-263c-4b9e-93f7-6dae85427747_zps012d9408.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Serena Williams via Getty Images photo af75e243-263c-4b9e-93f7-6dae85427747_zps012d9408.jpg" border="0" src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/af75e243-263c-4b9e-93f7-6dae85427747_zps012d9408.jpg" /></a><br />Photo via Getty Images<br /><br />There is no doubt who the Queen of Tennis is. <b>Serena Williams</b> has dominated her sport for the last couple of years, and her victory over an overmatched <b>Caroline Wozniacki</b> gave her her 18th Grand Slam Victory,more than the man some worship as a deity on earth despite the Herculean efforts of some, more than the candy pusher, and equal with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. No one wanted to think this could happen but it has and barring injury or lack of interest there's no reason to think she doesn't have one more in her. This was not her best season, there was no way she was going to duplicate 2013, but she still managed to reach this milestone. <br /><br />But Serena is not the WTA tour and at 32 she is a tennis senior citizen. So what about the rest of the tour? Where are the future superstars coming from? Can they be identified or are they going to be chosen for us by the large PR firms that control much of what goes on in tennis?<br /><br />The current generation has sorted itself out. After Serena who has accomplished so much on the court, there are the image driven successes of <b>Maria Sharapova</b>, who has won 5 Grand Slams and was supposed to win more according to the hype. There is Serena's older sister <b>Venus Williams</b> who has 7 Grand Slams to her name but influenced how the modern game of women's tennis is played more than anyone. When you watch Venus at her best and then look at someone like Maria Sharapova for example, you can see how Venus game is the basis for not only the Russian's game but many other players. <br /><br />There was a lot of hype around Serbians <b>Ana Ivanovic</b> and <b>Jelena Jankovic</b>, the so called Serbian Sisters, but of the two only Ivanovic has won a Slam. Jankovic created the template for reaching #1 without a Slam. She played any and everywhere no matter the level of tournament. There were jokes that she would fly to far off places to pay $10k or $25k events in between main tour events in her never ending quest for points. I don't think she's ever physically recovered from that effort although she did try to beef up her strength and endurance with disastrous results. She can still beat players who aren't familiar with her style but has never won a Slam.<br /><br />I'll get to <b>Caroline Wozniacki</b> in a minute. A direct descendant of Jelena Jankovic's quirky style is <b>Agnieszka Radwanska</b>. Her now you see it now you don't style used to drive players wild but now she only beats young guns or those who never quite reached the upper echelons of the sport. I feel that her chance to win a Slam has passed and that her efforts to improve her serve and aggressiveness came too late to make a difference for her. She came close to but never made the top spot.<br /><br />Before I discuss the woman WTA CEO Stacey Allaster nick named "Sunshine" I have to throw in the disastrous effect that on court coaching has had on women's tennis. It's very hard for a player reliant on her coach running down from the stands to hold her hand and give her perspective on what's happening on the court to win a Slam. Keep in mind a Slam is run under ITF rules and wisely they have rejected on court coaching. In 2014 we saw <b>Li Na</b> win in Melbourne, <b>Maria Sharapova</b> win in Paris, <b>Petra Kvitova</b> win in London and Serena Williams in New York. This post will be a lot longer if we go into the coaching from the stands players rely on. Does everyone get coaching of some kind during a match? Of course. Have any of these women made on court coaching into an art form all it's own? No. Caroline Wozniacki and her father Victor Krason do the equivalent of a Vegas floor show with his dramatic visits to talk to his daughter while she dries off, hydrates, and stares into space. Like Radwanska and Ivanovic Wozniacki has added aggression and better shot making to her game and both are playing pretty good tennis. Will Wozniacki ever win a Slam and justify her former #1 ranking? It's possible. The draw would have to break her way for that to happen and that's not out of the realm of possibility. <br /><br />But this post is about where the WTA goes from here. The short answer is that there is no easy answer.<br /><br />We all know about the WTA moving almost all of its tournaments from Europe and the States to Asia. It's too early to talk about the success or failure of that yet. It's not too early to talk about the attempts of Asian promoters to either poach the Australian Open or add a 5th Slam/two week event in Asia. <br /><br /><a href="http://gulfnews.com/sport/tennis/asian-tennis-federation-makes-case-for-financial-muscle-1.1386539"> Leslie Wilson Jr </a> reporting on the recent ITF meeting in Dubai talked about the pitch the Asian Tennis Federation made.<br /><br />The ATF President Anil Kumar Khanna made the following point:<br /><br /><blockquote>“The ITF is not a financially successful body. Right now it is not making a surplus, at best it is making $500,000 [Dh1.83 million] a year and our development expenses have gone down significantly to what it was 10 years ago,” he said.<br /><br />“So basically what the ATF is telling the ITF is that it must make a profit of $50 million, like the Grand Slams are making a profit of $100 million, at least for the sake of it’s 210 member nations, so that it can have worldwide development.<br /><br />“This can be generated through its own Grand Slam-like tournament, a two-week event which can be called the ITF World Championship. Even if the ITF can make even $50 million, we will be happy.<br /><br />“That money will not belong to one nation it will belong to 201 nations. It will be money well spent in Asia, in Africa, in Central America, in South America. Today we find tennis getting centred around only Europe making it is easier for Europe-based players to succeed.<br /><br /><b>“Asians on the other hand face logistical hurdles having to travel far, spend more and get little in return, should they lose.”</b></blockquote><br />Mr. Khanna seems to be aware of the backlash the WTA is facing because of it's Asian focus and skillfully brings in the continents of Africa and South America as well as Central America as potential beneficiaries of a new ITF event in Asia. It's not clear to me that players from those continents or parts of hte world would benefit from a two week event in Asia but I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. I don't see the Australian Open going away. It's worked too hard and spent too much money to update it's facility and shame the other Slams into upgrading thier plant as well to simply pack up and go away. But money talks and you know what walks. The WTA has already gone for Asian money and the security of government involvement in sports. The ATP hasn't and I feel that is the organizaiton Mr. Khanna is pitching to.<br /><br />Meanwhile the WTA is doing it's best to pump up the rankings of Asian women by instituting special $125k tournaments geared specifically to the Asian market with rules that go against those in the WTA rulebook. There was a lot of conversation about <b>Peng Shuai</b> entering Nanchang in violation of WTA rules. Subsequent events will take place in Ningbo (October 27) and Taipei. One will take place in Limoges, France starting on November 3, the same time as the one in Taipei. While Mr. Khanna talks about the expense fo Asian players traveling overseas the same situation exists for non Asian players traveling to Asia.<br /><br />At any rate the WTA is still populated by a majority of players from Europe and the States. And it's not even doing a very good job promoting the players it has. Petra Kvitova? She's won two Slams. Many would say "who"?<br /><b>Simona Halep</b>? She's been the hottest player on the tour but again many have no idea who she is. How will the WTA promote non Westerners?<br /><br />Taking a look at the WTA top 20 we find the following:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">[1] WILLIAMS, SERENA USA</div><div style="text-align: center;">[2] HALEP , SIMONA ROU</div><div style="text-align: center;">[3] KVITOVA, PETRA CZE</div><div style="text-align: center;">[4] SHARAPOVA, MARIA RUS</div><div style="text-align: center;">[5] RADWANSKA, AGNIESZKA POL</div><div style="text-align: center;">[6] LI, NA CHN</div><div style="text-align: center;">[7] BOUCHARD, EUGENIE CAN</div><div style="text-align: center;">[8] KERBER, ANGELIQUE GER</div><div style="text-align: center;">[9] WOZNIACKI, CAROLINE DEN</div><div style="text-align: center;">[10 IVANOVIC, ANA SRB</div><div style="text-align: center;">[11] JANKOVIC, JELENA SRB</div><div style="text-align: center;">[12] ERRANI, SARA ITA</div><div style="text-align: center;">[13] CIBULKOVA, DOMINIKA SVK</div><div style="text-align: center;">[14] MAKAROVA, EKATERINA RUS</div><div style="text-align: center;">[15] SAFAROVA, LUCIE CZE</div><div style="text-align: center;">[16] PENNETTA, FLAVIA ITA</div><div style="text-align: center;">[17] PETKOVIC, ANDREA GER</div><div style="text-align: center;">[18] WILLIAMS, VENUS USA</div><div style="text-align: center;">[19] SUÁREZ NAVARRO, CARLA ESP</div><div style="text-align: center;">[20] STOSUR, SAMANTHA AUS</div><div style="text-align: center;">[21] PENG, SHUAI CHN</div><br />The only player people who don't count tennis as part of their major sports obession would consider the next best is the young woman from Canada. Remember I'm talking about new faces in the sport not the established players. You would never know about the others unless you have someone in your life who lives and breathes tennis.<br /><br />But what about the quality of the tennis being played you ask? Enough of the personalities and hype. How well are they playing?<br /><br />Sadly not so well. There are players like <b>Lucie Safarova</b> who based on talent should be in the top ten but for some reason seem to lose the plot when the pressure is on. Tennis is played not only on the court but between the ears. If you can't think your way through a match and adjust to changes the player across the net is making in her game you end up losing matches you should've won. It is so frustrating to watch a women's match that starts out competitive and ends up with one, sometimes both players going on walkabout and the one who manages to bring herself back to the match ends up the winner while you, the fan, shake your head at the errorfest you've paid your hard earned money to see in person. <br /><br />I blame a lot of this on oncourt coaching and the inability of up and comers, and some veterans to think through a match. On court coaching ensures that they don't have to. It's this that has diminished the quality of women's tennis. With low quality tennis - where Grand Slam matches are played at the same level as International's - why would fans pay to see the WTA product? They're not. And I think this is part of the reason Allaster and her organization are willing to take the hit and move almost their whole tour to Asia. What do they have to lose? Empty stadiums are the norm when it comes to women's tennis. Is there another Serena on the horizon? No. Are there good players around? Yes. Will they become exceptional players? That remains to be seen. Get rid of on court coaching. Stop making Juniors think they're stars when they haven't accomplished anything. There is no one size fits all in tennis and while Federations all have a preferred style a player should be able to create her own style within that framework. We don't need a new Serena or Venus. We don't need another marketing success based on looks and not on performance. We need a combination of the two, one that occurs naturally instead of a player being selected as The One to the detriment of other players who could use the help financially and with coaching. <br /><br />Sadly, I don't think any of this is going to happen.<br /><br /><b>Li Na</b><br /><br />There were press reports going back to the US Open that <b>Li Na</b> was going to retire due to injury. She'd been playing for a long time with kinesio tape on her knee but not once was the extent of her injury, and her pain, discussed in the Western press. The Chinese sports prsss on the other hand, where the imminent retirement was reported as fact, was accused of making shit up and the WTA pressed on with promoting her triumphant return to Wuhan to play in the tournament made possible by her success on the International stage. <br /><br />Let's look at that success for a minute. Li Na played on the tour 15 years, much of that time under the supervision of the Chinese Tennis Federation. Li ended up in a battle with her Federation to keep her earnings and the right to choose coaches outside of their system. It was at the end of that fight that Li's game improved and she began to have success at larger tournaments. She was already in her late 20's by then though and now, at 32, she's had to call it quits due to injury. I doubt she's the type of player Federations want to cite as a role model to their juniors let alone their professionals.<br /><br />Li is still the face of Asian tennis in spite of her battle with her Federation. Maybe I should qualify that and say she's the face of Asian women's tennis? She's shown what it takes to make it to the top level in her sport and her not being able to play anymore is a great loss. She will be making publicity appearances and hopefully she'll be able to talk to girls who want to be like her. <br /><br />What is sad is that it's only within the last two years that we in the West got to know her not as an Asian player but as a woman with great wit and sparkle. Her peers knew her. We Western fans didn't. That wit and sparkle, the ability to laugh at herself and her husband was part of what made her a fan favorite.<br /><br />You will be missed Na. <br /><br /><b>End Notes</b><br /><br />In last weeks post on the ATP I mentioned that Spain's Davis Cup loss wasn't that big a deal since it was better to rebuild now than wait until all of their top players were unable to play well.<br /><br />Well Thank You Carlos Moya. There was a lot of politics behind him becoming Spain's DC coach and it was thought that Spain would return to DC glory. Instead Moya has stepped aside saying that being Davis Cup coach was not what he expected it to be. Really? Well what did you think it was going to be like Carlos? You sitting on the bench while the stars of Spanish tennis romped over the opposition? That it wasn't going to be work? <br /><br />At any rate someone else, who is willing to do the work, who is willing to do team building, will step in. Juan Carlos Ferrero? Who knows? Whoever it is will be better than Moya who was handed the job on a silver platter.<br /><br />ETA: The RFET has chosen Gala León García as its new Davis Cup Captain. She is a former top 30 player, 40, and has been working as the sports director of the RFET. <a href= "http://tenis.as.com/tenis/2014/09/21/copa_davis/1411327108_291974.html"> Link </a> is in Spanish. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/09/where-do-we-go-from-here-part-2-wta.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-757702474597183495.post-5533717197632180374Fri, 19 Sep 2014 16:55:00 +00002014-09-19T11:55:36.614-05:002014 US OpenATPJunior Boys TennisMen's TennisWhere Do We Go From Here? Part 1 The ATPby Savannah<br /><br /><a href="http://s412.photobucket.com/user/savanna215/media/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/MarinCilic2014OpenDay15iy2BBxqbnnil_zps4038c1e8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp201/savanna215/2014%20Misc%20Blog%20Pictures/MarinCilic2014OpenDay15iy2BBxqbnnil_zps4038c1e8.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo MarinCilic2014OpenDay15iy2BBxqbnnil_zps4038c1e8.jpg"/></a><br />Source: Julian Finney/Getty Images North America<br /><br />Tennis is a funny sport. And tennis fans are, let's say a bunch of spoiled brats. For the last few years there's been a constant whine about "the same four guys are always winning the big ones". The cry has been for someone new to step up and seize the mantle from "those same four guys".<br /><br />The thing is what they really meant is somewhat tricky. For some this meant that someone from the tennis axis countries - Great Britain, France, Australia and the United States. For others this meant that one of the "top four" is more deserving of cakewalk draws because he is who he is. I don't think either of these groups was satisfied with how the US Open turned out. They got what they wanted - new blood - but not the new blood they wanted - or the old blood they wanted for that matter.<br /><br />To be clear I'm not a fan of <b>Marin Cilic</b> I'm an admirer. No matter how he felt privately about the circumstances behind his suspension publicly he did his mea culpa, apologized, and instead of going off and sulking in a corner or dragooning famous friends to bemoan his fate to anyone who would listen he worked on his tennis.<br /><br />The men and women who make up the tennis press - using the term loosely of course - had already passed judgement on Marin Cilic's place in the hierarchy of tennis so they were doing their usual reading of press releases from the tours or the agents of players deemed more worthy instead of watching how Cilic was playing on his return. Instead they went on a mission to try and force tournaments to give Wild Cards - Main Draw Wild Cards mind you - to someone who when he was playing regularly on the main tour really wasn't all that. It was as if they decided that Cilic, who took his punishment with class, was a non story coming into the US Open.<br /><br />Meanwhile fans of one of the original Top Two were angry that despite a draw that he went through like a hot knife through butter lost to - gasp! - someone who they and most observers thought he powned on his way to the US Open. I've said it so much it's almost a mantra for me: a soft draw doesn't make a champion. But what do I know? The Powers That Be gave him an even softer draw in New York. When I saw the draw I figured he had his usual stroll to the quarter finals where he would run into a player with some backbone. I was wrong. He made it to the semifinals and faced someone who had just come off of injury and had often cracked under pressure, <b>Nishikori Kei</b>. As we all know Nishikori played Cilic in the US Open Final so once again a soft draw didn't help it's recipient one bit.<br /><br />To say the attitude of some in the "press" regarding the US Open final was horrendous is putting it mildly. Their main cry seemed to be "no one is going to watch"! You'd think that after all the whining about wanting new blood in a Slam final they really didn't mean it. They wanted someone deemed worthy not two men who they'd virtually ignored most of the year. But the two men who played the best met each other in the Final and the outcome was one no one predicted. No one. <br /><br />After the Australian Open there was a big push to make <b>Stan Wawrinka</b> into the next shiny bright object. To make someone into the next bestest thing they have to have something to polish and make shine. Wawrinka isn't that guy.<br /><br />Oh he got the cute nick names -Stanimal being the one that makes me cringe the most, and people were pushing him to become the next President of the Players Association but did "they" really think players would vote for someone who had never joined their oganization? <br /><br />This is what annoys be about tennis reporters. They knew Wawrinka had never belonged to the players association but they promoted his candidancy as if he were the second coming of a deity. Meanwhile the players elected <b>Eric Butorac</b>. You could hear some peoples heads explode while asking "who"? Again, if they'd been reporting instead of going for the okay doke Butorac's election wouldn't have come as such a surprise, or disappointment.<br /><br />Men's tennis continues to be a mostly non American affair with <b>John Isner</b> at #16 the only American in the top twenty. Despite being a legend in his own mind when it comes to his relationship to his sport Isner is considered a minor player overseas. We all know about his "God's Country" comment that offended many fans and we know about the shit fit he threw when he was bumped to the second court in Washington DC because Europe wanted "top" players matches broadcast back to their fans. <br /><br />It's also time to retire that "Top Four" narrative that includes <b>Andy Murray</b>. He's currently ranked #12 in the world and while a return to the top isn't out of the question he's not part of the top four let alone part of the top ten.<br /><br />The tennis press has seized on <b>Grigor Dimitrov</b> as the Chosen One. He hasn't shown me that he's got that "thing" the stars have. I'm not impressed with his game either but some would call me a "hater" when I say that. Whatever. Declaring someone the next big thing doesn't work in tennis. The player himself determines whether he joins the "superstar" category not the hopes and dreams of agents. <br /><br />The transition from one era to another is taking place in men's tennis but it's going at a much slower pace than some want. The argument can be made that one guy is in the top three because of favorable draws that have seen him cruise to the business end of a tournament more often than not and not because he's playing out of his mind tennis. Nishikori made that clear in the US Open semi final. If Cilic continues his current form he's the man to watch going into the Asian and indoor swings leading up to the WTF. He's within the top ten now at #9. He has the potential to go higher. As a big man with good movement if he continues to play the way he did in New York he'll be shoving guys aside as he moves to the top.<br /><br />While the British, The United States and Australian programs seem to be in some disarray those of other, smaller countries, are shoring themselves up and preparting for the future by developing new talent pretty much out of the spotlight. Lots of people chortled when Spain lost in Davis Cup to Brazil but he who laughs last laughs longest. They know who their top players are and none of them have anything to prove. Unlike the US and Australia who relied/are relying on aging players to keep themselves in the conversation the Spaniards are planning long term. The British have only one man as well and he is learning the system of a new coach. This is where the reorganization of USTA Player Development comes into play. <br /><br />Colette Lewis, who singlehandedly brought real reporting to Junior Tennis in the United States has written her take on what the new Director of <b>P</b>layer <b>D</b>evelopment needs to do. Here are two points that she makes regarding USTA PD:<br /><br /><blockquote>2. PD's voice must be heard on the topic of minimum prize money for Futures events on the USTA Pro Circuit. To allow $10,000 Futures tournaments to continue to exist without any increase in prize money for 20 years demonstrates a lack of big-picture thinking. It would cost $115,000 to upgrade the 23 men's $10Ks to $15Ks. A less complicated and cheaper action item would be hard to find.<br /><br />3. Too much money is going to too few juniors. Selecting prospects is what competition is for. Anointing players based on potential and providing them with everything is risky at best and a waste of PD resources at worst. Better to give 100 kids $1000 than 1 kid $100,000.<br /></blockquote><br />Here is what she would like to see in the new head of PD:<br /><br /><blockquote>1) have a background in coaching juniors and either a player they coach, or a son or daughter in the system <br /><b>2) be familiar with the demands of the current pro game, whether as a coach or player at that level in the past decade</b> <br /><b>3) be well-versed in the current advances in coaching and sports science </b><br />4) have a love of the game that extends to sectional/national junior tournaments <br />5) demonstrate an ability to convey to the USTA president, board and all USTA members the goals and mission of Player Development, a plan to reach them, and a means to determine if they have been met <br />6) possess business and marketing skills to attract sponsorship and support from commercial interests <br />7) inspire loyalty, leading to reduced turnover <br />8) be delighted to live in Lake Nona, Florida</blockquote><br />Items two and three are no brainers and it's shocking that this has to be mentioned at all. I've said before that the McEnroe brothers seem to be totally unaware of anything that has gone on in tennis since they stopped playing. John makes it obvious with his commentary (I should say what passes for commentary from him), and if Ms Lewis had to make these two points part of her wish list it implies that Patrick McEnroe is as stuck in the past as his brother.<br /><br />To read her post in full <a href="http://tenniskalamazoo.blogspot.com/2014/09/where-should-usta-player-development-go.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Zootennis+%28ZooTennis%29"> go here </a>.<br /><br />In <a href="http://tenniskalamazoo.blogspot.com/2014/09/more-on-usta-player-developments-course.html"> a second post </a> Ms Lewis reports that up and coming junior Francis Tiafoe is being courted by Jay-Z's sports management team. He's 16. He plays like he's 16. He's got a big personality and loves the roar of the crowd but imagine a kid knowing Jay-Z is interested in him? Think of parents who, with stars in their eyes, picture their child as part of a future "Big Four"? Who is going to tell them to slow their roll, to keep their child away from the vultures? Is it going out on a limb to say no one?<br /><br />The biggest problem with many US juniors (I'm focusing on the men now) is that they're stars before they've accomplished anything. Instead of fighting to become international stars they're fighting to be top of the heap in a very limited, insular world that refuses to see the sport has passed them by. What if players like <b>Donald Young </b>and <b>Ryan Harrison</b> had developed games better suited to their size instead of being forced to play a style that is totally unsuited to not only their physiques but their personalities? I've always felt Young should have a game more like another small man, Nikolay Davydenko instead of trying to be the next Pete Sampras or Andy Roddick. Dare I say Roddick fell from high potential to average once his coaching was taken over by US based men? I do. At one point he had an all around, all surface game. In the end he was a servebot who was outthought and outmanuevered on court.<br /><br />So where does the ATP go from here? I think it's on it's way. It hasn't invested as heavily in Asia as the WTA has and continues to play tournaments where there is am already established fan base. The old powers are in trouble of their own making and it will take awhile for them to turn things around. Does it mean a lower quality of men's tennis for a few years? Yes and no. Cilic played wonderful, dominating tennis this summer. <b>Jo Tsonga </b>is working hard on his game realizing that now might be the best chance he has. <b>Richard Gasquet</b>, sadly, is another victim of the hype machine. He may be able to turn things around but he looks disinterested and lost at times on court. <b>Gaël Monfils</b> is probably the biggest waste of talent out there. If he can learn to hold his focus and not fall back on old, bad habits he could surprise us all.<br /><br />After <b>Andy Murray</b> who is there in Britain? Australia seems to be banking on a young man with a volatile personality but without the right for his time smarts of <b>Lleyton Hewitt</b>. <br /><br />In the States Tiafoe is only 16. We won't know much about him for another four to five years.<br /><br />I feel that there will be another period of men from those pesky "other countries" dominating the game. Unless some tennis associations take their heads out of the sand that period will last a long time.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />http://wwwsavannahsworld.blogspot.com/2014/09/where-do-we-go-from-here-part-1-atp.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Savannah)0